What 

The Wild Flower 

Tell Us 




Dudley Oliver Osterke 




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What the Wild Flowers Tell Us 



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What the Wild Flowers 
Tell Us 

Nature Talks With Young People 



By 
DUDLEY OLIVER OSTERHELD 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR 




New York Chicago 

Fleming H. Revell Company 

London and Edinburgh 



Copyright, 1921, by 
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 






£\U 



DEC 12192! 



New York: 158 Fifth Avenue 
Chicago : 1 7 North Wabash Ave. 
London : 2 1 Paternoster Square 
Edinburgh : 75 Princes Street 



©GLA630742 



-> 



Foreword 

OVER and above all other influences and 
institutions, Home is really the place 
where the character of a child is molded, 
and the trend of its life directed. With grave 
anxiety, parents watch, not only the good but the 
evil traits, as they appear in their children, and are 
often sorely put to, to check the development of the 
latter, and to foster and encourage the former. 
Baby's first lisping word and first intelligent ac- 
tion are quickened and prompted by the parents' 
interest in, and sympathy with, the child's welfare. 
Thus is commenced a mutual sense of need and co- 
ordination, which should never be broken down. 

It is with a desire to do something to aid moth- 
ers and fathers in the creation and development of 
such a sacred and invaluable bond, that this collec- 
tion of flower-stories is published. In it, parents 
may find many lessons taught by the field and way- 
side blossoms, such as make for the strengthening 
of the better side of their children's characters, and 
for the correction and elimination of their short- 
comings and undesirable tendencies. 

A few quiet moments spent in reading one of 
these stories to a child, followed by a patient, ten- 

5 



6 FOKEWOBD 

der application of its lesson to a fault, or weak- 
ness, or virtue the child has commenced to develop, 
may do much to expand the best and eradicate the 
worst, while, at the same time, serving to promote 
and preserve a loving and sympathetic understand- 
ing between parent and child, so beneficial and de- 
sirable in every home. 

But the above is not by any means the only use 
to which these stories may be put. They should 
possess interest for Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, 
junior congregations, kindergarten groups, par- 
ents, public school teachers, preachers, children's 
camp directors, rural residents, and even farmers. 
Dieticians and others interested in food values will 
find useful information about the food properties 
of the wild flowers mentioned. Every flower dealt 
with is a food flower; and every story deals with 
some habit or duty in child-life. The stories might 
also be read with profit on hikes. 

Originally the stories in this little collection 
were told by the author to a large group of chil- 
dren in a down-town church of a great city, where 
the chemical fumes from the innumerable sur- 
rounding factories almost prevent grass from 
growing. The plan which the author followed in 
the original presentation was to devote about 
fifteen minutes each Sunday to story-telling 
and sketching. Occasional oral or written tests 
were conducted which covered subjects, Scripture 
verses, names and uses of the flowers, and the les- 



FOKEWOKD 7 

sons taught. On the Sunday preceding the final 
test on all the stories, the children were given an 
oral review. Two public school teachers and the 
superintendent of the Sunday School prepared this 
final test and acted as judges. After the examina- 
tion the Public Park Commissioner of the city ad- 
dressed the children on the importance of culti- 
vating flowers and trees in order to beautify the 
city and country. The Commissioner was so 
pleased with the plan of instruction involved in 
the stories that at the conclusion of the address he 
presented as awards to the children who had re- 
ceived the highest marks in the test, potted plants 
which he voluntarily offered to donate for the oc- 
casion. 

The author is not outlining this plan as a model 
to be universally adopted, but relates it simply for 
what it may be worth. Modifications will readily 
suggest themselves. For example, it may be 
found undesirable to tell flower stories in a con- 
tinuous series; in that event alternate months 
might be given to flowers, with other stories in be- 
tween. Or April, May, and June of each year 
might be used, or perhaps the summer months, 
when the flowers are in bloom and can be picked. 
In localities where the flowers grow, children 
might gather them and bring them to church to 
use as object lessons while the stories are being 
told; in other places, the blackboard might be 
used for sketches by the minister, teacher, or pu- 



b FOBEWOBB 

pa. The younger children will find interesting 
and profitable hand-work in colouring the plates in 
the book with crayolas. A special index of sug- 
gested texts is given after the final story for the 
use of ministers in their Junior Congregation 
work. 

Of course, no attempt has been made to tell a 
story of every wild plant. It has been the purpose 
of the author, however, to work into helpful 
stories for children the characteristics of many 
edible wild plants. A reading of the stories will 
make it plain, therefore, that no one need go 
hungry if lost in the woods and will further 
deepen an interest in the food value of many wild 
flowers now regarded by the average person as 
useless. Let it be kept in mind, however, that this 
little volume is neither a manual of botany nor a 
treatise on diatetics ; it is a story-book for children. 

It is earnestly hoped that children everywhere 
will receive much good from these stories, told not 
so much by the author as by the beautiful wild 
flowers themselves. 

D. O. O. 

The Corner-Stone Temple, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 



Contents 

I. The Common Dandelion . . 1 1 

Gold in Your Back- Yard 

II. The Common Violet . . .17 

A New Suit of Clothes 

III. The Marsh Marigold . . .23 

A Surprise Party 

IV. J ack-in-the- Pulpit .... 29 

The Little Minister 

V. The Indian Cucumber-Root . . 35 

Graves that Won't Stay Closed 

VI. The Wood Sorrel . . . .41 

A World Where Three Make One 

VII. The Yarrow or Milfoil . . 47 

Driving Out Devils 

VIII. The Forget-Me-Not . . .53 

Having Supper With a Friend 

IX. The Common Plantain ... 59 

The Spike that Bloomed 

X. The Alfalfa Flowers ... 65 

Getting a Good Grip 

XI. The Water Lily . . . .71 

Feeding the Wanderer 

XII. The Swamp Honeysuckle . . 77 

Training Time 

XIII. The Arrow Leaf or Arrow-Head 83 

Shooting Arrows 

XIV. The High Bush Blackberry . . 89 

Living for Others 

9 



10 CONTENTS 

XV. The Pokeweed . ... 95 

False Faces 

XVI. The Cat-Tails . . . .101 

A White Heart in a Black World 

XVII. The Meadowsweet . . . .107 

Sweetened Lives 

XVIII. Burdock 113 

The Child Who Got There 

XIX. The Thistle 119 

A Friend with Thorns On 

XX. The Wild Strawberry . . ,125 

Words with a Sweet Taste 

XXI. The Rampion 131 

Wonder- Working Tears 

XXII. The Common Sunflower . 137 

The Great Miner 

XXIII. The Pearly Everlasting . . 143 

The Day That Has No Night 

XXIV. The Chicory 149 

The Magic Touch 

XXV. The Pimpernel . . . .155 

The Weather-Glass on Your Face 

XXVI. The Sweet Woodruff . . .161 

From Shadow to Sunshine 

XXVII. The Borage 167 

The Star-Rays Over Every Cradle 

XXVIII. The Purslane or Pusley . .173 

Wedge In 

XXIX. The Wild Carrot . . .179 

Running Wild 

XXX. The Ground Nut . . . .185 

Climbing Over Fences 
Index of Suggested Texts for 
Ministers 190 



THE COMMON DANDELION 

Gold in Your Back-Yard 

SOME foolish folks think God has buried all 
the gold in the earth, but He hasn't. He has 
spread some over the top of the earth, and 
it can be found in mostly any back-yard. 

Children everywhere are acquainted with the 
little golden dandelion flower. What a queer 
name ! When the French people first saw it, they 
said, " Dent de lion," which means, a lion's tooth. 
Its ragged leaves looked like a lion's tooth, so they 
called it dandelion. It grows anywhere, even in 
back-yards. 

Dandelion will grow in rich soil, or in poor soil, 
and no matter where it grows, it always has the 
same strength as a tonic for the body. Gold is al- 
ways the same, and it glistens as brightly for the 
poor as for the rich. Gold is gold everywhere. 
So the tonic of the dandelion plant is helpful to 
rich and poor alike. 

It is so with Jesus, for He is just like gold 
wherever He is. He smiles as brightly for the 
poor as for the rich. He spreads His kindness 

ii 



12 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL US 

and His helpfulness everywhere. " He is the same 
yesterday, and to-day, and forever." 

Dandelion is eaten in many different ways. 
Some boil the leaves with lentils; others use both 
leaves and flowers as a salad. Some people do 
not like the bitter taste of dandelion, so they ex- 
tract it by washing the plant through several 
waters, or by making it white. Making it white 
is called " Blanching," and this is done by heap- 
ing the earth up around the plant, just as the 
farmers do with celery. 

Dandelion is a wonderful blood purifier, and 
the French and Dutch always eat it in the spring- 
time. In our own fields and lots, children and 
grown folks can often be seen gathering this in- 
teresting plant. 

In some communities the roots are roasted, and 
then ground, and used in place of coffee. On the 
banks of the Rhine River it is raised for this pur- 
pose. Doctors say it has the flavour of the best 
mocha coffee, without its harmful elements. 
Coffee taken at night will keep you awake, but 
dandelion will put you to sleep. The French slice 
the roots, and eat them with the leaves, on but- 
tered bread. Others cut the roots into small 
pieces, dry them in an oven until brown and crisp, 
and eat them in that way. The roots should be 
taken up in the fall, washed, cut in pieces, and 
dried in the sun, then they will keep for years, 
and can be roasted at pleasure. 



THE COMMON DANDELION 13 

There is a bitter flaky-like substance in the root 
of the dandelion, which when taken for dyspepsia 
and liver troubles, will leave no injurious results 
to the body as other drugs often do. This little 
weed plant is also full of many mineral ingredients 
that build up the body. And it contains these in- 
gredients wherever it grows, all over the civilized 
world. This is like gold — the same everywhere. 

Many years ago, upon the island of Minorca, 
the locusts ate up all the crops. The people dug 
up the dandelion roots, ate them, and saved their 
lives. 

Various animals also get food from this plant. 
Lambs that are weak and sickly soon recover their 
strength, if allowed to feed in a field where dande- 
lion is in flower. That is why some people call 
dandelion, " Lamb's Lettuce." 

In summer or in winter, dandelion may be 
found. Isn't that like gold? In all seasons and 
places, no matter how cold, or how hot, it is the 
same nourishing tonic and food. How like the 
Master that is. He can always be relied upon to 
be the same true Friend to every child, every- 
where. In pleasure, in sorrow, in sickness, in 
health, Jesus is the same patient Helper. 

But here is something wonderful about the dan- 
delion — rats, field-mice, squirrels, rabbits, beavers, 
beetles and worms never gnaw at its roots or 
leaves. This permits it to bloom at a time of the 
year when fresh vegetable food is scarce. It looks 



14 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

as if God desired to give His children a helpful 
tonic food in the early spring, when other food 
was difficult to get, so He preserved the dandelion 
from all destructive animals and bugs. Even bees 
gather honey from it in the early spring. 

Isn't Jesus like that dandelion — a Friend to 
folks when other friends are scarce. Children, 
this is more than gold. Some day we will put 
gold under our feet, but friends will be loved more 
and more. And the dandelion in our back-yard 
tells us this story. 

The leaves keep close to the ground, and each 
new set is formed on top of the older ones, yet the 
crown of the stem hugs the ground so tightly that 
a man can hardly kick it loose. 

That is just exactly the way Jesus works in 
children's lives. He sets boys and girls so firmly 
in this world that rude and wicked men find it 
hard to take away their crowns. The Bible tells 
us that Jesus will not allow any man to pluck us 
out of His hand. 

What fun we have chasing that balloon-like seed 
ball that grows out of the stem of the dandelion. 
We were told it could steal pennies from our pock- 
ets, and we were afraid, but by and by we took 
the dandelion, and with a deep breath, blew at the 
puff ball, then shouted, 

" O dandelion, with globe of down 
The schoolboy's clock in every town." 



THE COMMON DANDELION 15 

Dandelion stands the rough March winds be- 
cause its stem is a hollow tube that holds from one 
to two hundred tiny blossoms, that stick closely 
to each other. Wonderful message, children. 
There are no gusts of evil or storms of trouble 
powerful enough to blow little children out of the 
Master's grip. And if all through life children 
will be true to each other, stick together, they will 
be as gold. Each Sunday School class, each con- 
gregation, each church will be like a nugget of 
gold. 

As many as ninety-three varieties of insects 
have been noticed collecting food and honey from 
the dandelion. Why shouldn't so many seek a 
flower that is the same generous helper under all 
conditions of weather and living? Here again 
we are reminded of Jesus, for His life has some- 
thing of help for every kind of child or grown up. 

Why can't all little children be like that dande- 
lion ? Some call it a weed, but it is more valuable 
than a nugget of gold. If children will try to de- 
velop a noble, even disposition, and will always 
be ready to serve, surely God will never permit 
bugs and worms to destroy them. We need not 
fear the grave. Our bodies may return to dust, 
but no worm can touch our souls. 

Fill the day full of kindness, truth, and love, no 
matter what the weather. " The same yesterday, 
and to-day, and forever." 




7"? ' ' 

Jkthinq ttefacgwilh crushed i/iolet and milk hides 

allpjmples, and y/m the skin a violet hue. 



II 

THE COMMON VIOLET 

A New Suit of Clothes 

WHEREVER the violet grows, it is a 
favourite. It makes everybody think of 
springtime, June and the robin's song. 
Yet by botanists it is classed as a common weed. 

The violet is plentiful in every part of Europe 
and America. Children find it in lowlands, 
meadows, woods, marshes, and along the road- 
sides and banks of streams. Most of the flowers 
are a deep purple, but some are light blue, and 
others nearly white. The leaves grow on long 
stems from the base, and are usually heart shaped, 
with round, toothed edges. 

In some countries of Europe, the peasant moth- 
ers make a syrup of violets, and give it to their 
children. Mohammedans make a drink from the 
violet, which they call violet sherbet. In parts of 
France the crushed violet is used in home-made 
remedies. In America we make a dainty candy 
with the violet flower, by dipping it in a syrup. 

Violets have been used as medicines in cases of 
rheumatism, weak eyes, quinsy, sore throat, scor- 
pion's sting, and some even used to believe it cured 

17 



18 "WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

cancer. Its present use in medicine is as a syrup 
for young children. Then it is also used in soaps 
and perfumes. 

The people of Wales carry the violet to the 
graves of their loved ones. In parts of Italy the 
same thing is done, and the days set apart for dec- 
orating the graves are called " Violet Days." 

When the Arabs wished to describe the eye of a 
beautiful woman, they likened it to a violet. The 
ancient Greeks had a queen goddess, and they al- 
ways said that this goddess had violet-like eye- 
lids. So Shakespeare speaks of 

" Violets dim 
But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes." 

These ancient pagans tried to make their skin look 
like violet, by mixing the crushed flower with milk, 
and bathing their faces in the mixture. But these 
people were pagans, and how silly that millions of 
Christians should follow this vain habit of the 
pagans, by smearing their eyelids and noses with 
various violet powders and pastes. This is not 
wearing the violet colour as it should be worn. 

This much loved flower has been put to so many 
uses that they cannot all be told here, for what we 
are most interested in is the use that was made of 
the violet colour in garments or robes. In olden 
times people who held high positions wore robes of 
violet colour, as violet has always been the emblem 
of royalty. Any one receiving a new robe, really 



THE COMMON VIOLET 19 

received a new suit of clothes, because the robe 
was the principal garment worn. The ancient 
Athenians made crowns of violets, and considered 
it an honour to be called violet crowned. The 
beautiful voilet hats of which many girls are so 
fond are perhaps taken from the old time violet 
crown. 

When children are truthful and brave, we say 
they are princely, meaning, of course, that they 
act like a noble character. It is then that boys and 
girls are worthy to wear a violet robe, such as was 
given to men whom kings wished to honour. 

Usually when children are to be dressed in a 
new suit of clothes, the question of fit is a serious 
one, because some children are so fat, and some 
are so skinny, some are so short, and some so tall. 
The skinny fellow must get a suit that will make 
him look stout, and the short fellow must get a 
suit that will make him look tall, and so on. Each 
must have a different sort of suit. But this suit, 
this new suit of clothes, which the Bible speaks of 
as a suit, or robe of violet, is one that will fit any 
child. An unusual suit, isn't it? 

In the days when Ahasuerus was king of the 
Persian Empire, there was a Jewish servant in the 
palace whose name was Mordecai. One day some 
of the other servants were planning to kill the 
king. Mordecai overheard them, broke up their 
plans, and saved the king's life. In the palace 
there was another servant whose name was 



20 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

Haman, and he was a very proud Persian. He 
had a much higher position than Mordecai. Every- 
one bowed to Haman as he went in and out o£ 
the gate; but Mordecai, who was the gatekeeper, 
refused to bow down to him. For this refusal 
Haman became so angry at Mordecai that he in- 
fluenced the king to give him permission to kill all 
the Jews in Persia. He forgot that the queen was 
Mordecai's cousin, and also of the Jews. 

Upon hearing of Hainan's murderous plan, 
Mordecai began to pray, and he asked Queen Es- 
ther, and all the Jews in the land to pray with him. 
That night the king could not sleep, so he called 
for the big book in which were written all the im- 
portant things done in his kingdom. While read- 
ing through it, he noticed that no reward had ever 
been given to Mordecai for saving his life. The 
next day Queen Esther told the king all about 
Hainan's plans to kill the Jews. This, together 
with some other things that Haman had done, 
enraged the king, and he ordered his servants to 
hang Haman on the very gallows that Haman had 
built for Mordecai. 

But he called Mordecai before him, placed a ring 
on his finger, and gave him a robe of royal purple, 
then " Mordecai went out from the presence of the 
king in royal apparel of violet." Some men who 
write books which explain the meaning of Bible 
verses call it a robe of purple, but others call it a 
robe of violet. 



THE COMMON VIOLET 21 

What a beautiful new suit of clothes for 
Mordecai. In spite of the bitterness and power of 
Haman, Mordecai firmly believed God would save 
him and his fellow Jews. That is like the violet 
flower. It is so true to its colour and flavour that 
vinegar cannot fade or sour it. In fact, if the 
violet be dipped into vinegar quite often, its per- 
fume will be preserved for a year or more. And 
wasn't Mordecai's trust in God something like that ? 
All the bitterness and ugliness of Haman could not 
destroy it. Mordecai was worthy to wear violet. 

By his loyalty to his people, the Jews, he saved 
their lives. The king honoured him with the new 
suit of clothes, a suit such as princely people wore, 
and God honoured him by making him a great man, 
for Mordecai was raised from the position of gate- 
keeper to that of prime minister to the king. 

Children who lead others to Sunday School and 
to church are saving lives, — saving them from sin 
and death. Such children will receive a high place 
of honour and influence in the land. It will be as 
if they wore the robes of kings and princes. It 
will be the noble character that will cover them, 
like a new suit of clothes. And this suit will fit 
any child. Like the violet they will be loved by 
everybody, because their characters of truth and 
loyalty represent princely and noble living. Their 
character will be like a beautiful robe of violet. 




Marsh [M&ryold 

The leaves a nutritious food- cooked or vickkdLs 



Ill 

THE MARSH MARIGOLD 
A Surprise Party 

WHAT happiness a surprise party brings 
to boys and girls! How big we felt 
when we received our invitation, and 
were told to bring sugar, or lemons, or crackers, 
or perhaps peanuts. What fun on the way to the 
house! And when the honoured one walked into 
the parlour, how we shouted, " Surprise ! Sur- 
prise ! " Then the lights were turned on, and the 
games and fun began. 

We are now invited to another surprise party, 
but of a very different sort. This time a little wild 
flower will surprise us. 

Early in the springtime, there is a small flower 
that blooms in marshy ground, and along slow 
flowing streams, everywhere from Newfoundland 
to South Carolina, and as far west as Nebraska. 
It is called the marsh marigold. When Tenny- 
son, a great English poet, saw it he said, " It 
shines like fire." The Indians gave it the name of 
" Onondaga," which means, " it blooms in the 
swamps." 

It was once thought that marsh marigold was 
23 



24 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

poisonous. Those who still say so keep picking 
other flowers that look like marigold. Some peo- 
ple call the marigold " Cowslip," but it isn't the 
cowslip at all. Poor little plant! Shunned and 
despised as poisonous, and called by names that 
class it with the dangerous plants, just because 
people do not know any better. What a surprise 
some of these people must get when they discover 
that marigold is not poisonous. 

The flower has no petals, but instead, from five 
to nine golden-yellow shining, under-petals, called 
sepals. In the center are many golden threads, 
still brighter than the sepals, and these are called 
stamens. The leaves are round or heart-shaped, 
and usually have a scallop edge. The stem is hol- 
low and grooved. 

Suppose we lost our way on some lonely coun- 
try road. Tired and hungry, we sat down by a 
bed of marigold to die. We would not think of 
eating the marigold flowers to keep from starving, 
because we had heard they were poisonous. What 
a surprise we should get, if a passing stranger 
should tell us that we need not starve, for the 
marigold all about us was a real food that makes 
the body strong. 

The leaves kept the Indians alive many a time, 
and we may eat them, too. They can be made into 
a salad, or eaten cooked. In some places marigold 
is pickled and sent to market. The Germans take 
the young flower buds, pickle them, and use them 



THE MAESH MARIGOLD 25 

for flavouring. What a surprise. A plant we were 
told to shun as poisonous, we suddenly discover to 
be a valuable food friend. 

There are many little children like that. Some 
tell us they are so unruly and wicked they are like 
poison. But when we get to know them real well, 
to our surprise they are kind and gentle. We must 
carefully sift all the unkind remarks that come to 
our ears, because many times people do not really 
understand the child they are talking about. 

There was a certain young lawyer defending an 
ignorant and lone woman. In the course of the 
case he spoke sharply to his opponent. The other 
lawyer then became angry, and said to him, " You 
are the nastiest and ugliest fellow I have ever dealt 
with." This was the first time they had met. The 
case lingered many months, and the two lawyers 
worked together very often after that. And one 
day the young attorney discovered a blunder 
through which his opponent might have lost hun- 
dreds of dollars. He quickly informed his op- 
ponent, and there was a little surprise party right 
then and there. The older lawyer took the young 
man by the hand. " I thank you, I thank you a 
thousand times," he said. " When I first met you, 
I thought you were the ugliest man I had ever 
tried to do business with, but forgive me, forgive 
me. Your kindness and honesty make you a noble 
youth indeed. I honour you." 

What a surprise party when we meet a lad who 



26 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

we think is full of poison, but whom on better ac- 
quaintance we find sweet and true, with no poison 
in him at all. 

There are many in the world to-day who think 
Jesus is a hard, sharp Master. They think He is 
too particular. All wrong-doers think He is like 
poison. And some children think He is too strict. 
They think Jesus deprives them of fun. But 
what a surprise we get when we become better 
acquainted with Him and find Him to be gentle, 
loving, helpful, and forgiving. He does not take 
our fun away, but makes us happier than ever. 

When Saul of Tarsus first heard of Jesus, he 
hated Him so bitterly that he wanted to kill all 
the Christians. While on his way to the ancient 
city of Damascus, with a permit that allowed him 
to kill the Christians, he was struck by a blaze of 
light that threw him to the ground, and Jesus 
spoke to him. He now saw how tender and lov- 
able Jesus was, so he arose and decided to stand 
by Jesus. His name was now changed to Paul. 
Later, when he was praising Jesus he was arrested 
and brought before the king. He told the king 
how once he had hated Jesus, but how after study- 
ing His wonderful life, he had found Him to be 
the Friend of man, and the Saviour of the world. 

What a surprise party for Paul. The Man he 
thought was the worst, turned out to be the best 
in all the world. He thought He was poison, but 
found He was helpful and strengthening, — like 



THE MARSH MAEIGOLD 27 

marigold. At another time Jesus fell into the 
hands of a rough and mad mob. They could not 
find any witnesses against Him, so they hired a 
couple of men to swear that Jesus had committed 
certain wrongs, which they knew He had never 
committed at all. Pilate, the judge, made a thor- 
ough investigation of all that Jesus had said and 
done. He then stepped out before that crowd of 
haters, and said, " I find no fault in this Man." 

Children who now think that Jesus is a little too 
strict, will get a wonderful surprise party if they, 
too, will give time and thought to the things Jesus 
has said and done. Boys and girls who now have 
no interest in Sunday School, or Junior Congre- 
gation, would meet with a happy surprise upon be- 
coming better acquainted with Jesus. 

Jesus desires that every child grow to be strong 
and pure. And because He will not let us do what 
we please, we sometimes shun Him. Why not 
begin now to study His plans and purposes for 
little children. He is not a hard taskmaster. He 
is a loving Friend. 

Beautiful marsh marigold. They told us once 
it was poison, but we found it to be food, — good 
food. What a surprise. 



^Jt 




w Pulpit 

The root is white and 
mealy on the inside, and 

can be eaten as a turnip. 



IV 

JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT 

The Little Minister 

ON a kitchen chair stood little five-year-old 
Herbert, with four other chairs in a row 
before him. He was wildly waving his 
hands, pounding his fists, and shouting at the top 
of his voice. In stepped the visiting pastor, by 
surprise, and when Herbert spied him he jumped 
from the chair and scooted off to his mother. 

" What is Herbert trying to do ; imitate some 
crazy man?" asked the minister, as Herbert's 
mother appeared. She hesitated, but said finally, 
" No, Pastor, I must tell you, he is playing church, 
and he is imitating you. ,, The pastor laughed. 
" Well," said he, " that is the first time I ever saw 
myself in action." 

In moist woodland, anywhere from Canada to 
Florida, and westward to Kansas and Minnesota, 
there is a little flower, growing from ten inches to 
three feet high, that imitates the preacher so well 
it has been named " Jack-in-the- Pulpit." 

The root of the plant is shaped like a turnip, and 
the Indians ate this; so it is sometimes called 
" Indian's Turnip." The root has no odour, but a 

29 



30 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEBS TELL US 

sharp burning taste, which it loses with age. The 
outside of the root is brownish gray, the inside 
white and mealy. Other names for this plant are 
wild pepper, devil's ear, swamp turnip, bog onion, 
and lords-and-ladies. We know it best as jack- 
in-the-pulpit. 

Early in April and on into July, the quaint green 
and brownish purple hooded flowers of this 
preacher plant may be seen in the shady depths of 
the woods. Jack the preacher is represented by 
the spike that grows up in the center, while the 
large surrounding petal forms the pulpit. The 
flower is so shaped that it provides even a sound- 
ing board over the head of Jack. 

The green spike in the center is called a spadix, 
and tiny flowers cluster about its base. The large 
encircling petal is called a spathe, and this is light 
green, striped with brown. The leaves are always 
in threes, egg-shaped, from three to six inches long, 
with one vein running parallel around the edge. 
Three leaflets form one leaf, and hang over the 
top of the pulpit, as if telling the subject of Jack's 
sermon, faith, hope and love. 

In the vast woodland cathedral the message of 
jack-in-the-pulpit rings out as clear as the voice 
of a prophet. After the leaves wither, large clus- 
ters of bright berries remain. And that is the way 
it ought to be with every child who would like to 
help others. Long after childhood is past, the 
Christian life ought to be bearing fruit. God tells 



JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT 31 

us that "His Word shall not return unto Him 
void." So if we are faithful when young, much 
good will come out of our later years. 

While God was making little ministers out of 
the wild woodland flower, He did not skip little 
children. He made all children to be His min- 
isters. And, beautiful as the wild flower is, the 
child is much more so in the work of ministering 
and helping. 

Little Samuel was only five years of age when 
his mother brought him to Eli, the minister of the 
church. She left him to be trained for the min- 
istry, so Eli gave him an ephod to wear, that was a 
gown, such as ministers wore in those days; and 
every year his mother made him a new little 
mantle. 

Samuel's first duties were to take care of the 
sacred candlesticks, and open the door of the 
church at sunrise. You see how even a child of 
five can be a little minister. Children can open 
and close the church doors softly, take good care 
of the hymn books, not tear them or draw funny 
pictures in them; they can be quiet through the 
service and attentive at all times. In doing this 
they will be little ministers. 

There was a mother down on her knees scrub- 
bing the kitchen floor. Her son, Richard, about 
ten years of age, just came in from school. He 
noticed that his mother was crying. Instantly he 
walked over to her side, put his little arms around 



32 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL US 

her neck, and simply said, " Don't cry, Mother." 
Richard's mother was a widow, and having neither 
food nor money in the house, she was almost ex- 
hausted. And, besides, she had to move out of 
those rooms in a few days, and did not know 
where to go. But, when little Richard came to 
her so tenderly, she braced up in a jiffy, and some- 
how there came to her mind that sweet hymn: 

" God will take care of you, 
Through every day, 
O'er all the way; 
God will take care of you." 

Richard was a little minister that day. He now 
has grown old, and his body, like the leaves of old 
jack-in-the-pulpit, is withering away; but his kind 
deeds of ministering are left like a bunch of bright 
berries, even more beautiful than any jack-in-the- 
pulpit ever left. 

One summer Sunday evening a minister noticed 
a mounted policeman, — boys call them " cops," — 
looking in the church window during the services. 
The next day the policeman called to see the min- 
ister and told this story. " Pastor," he said, " last 
night I drew my horse up to the open window of 
the church to listen to the singing and the sermon. 
I began to think of my dear old mother, who al- 
ways prayed so earnestly for me. I have been a 
very bad man, Pastor." By this time the police- 
man was weeping. " But," he continued with his 



JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT 33 

story, " that dear little twelve-year-old daughter of 
mine keeps begging me to be a Christian, and I 
must be one, that's all there is to it." 

The stalwart policeman united with that church 
the following Sunday, and his life from that mo- 
ment became a remarkable one. Dozens of men, 
women, and children were led into a Christian life 
through his personal efforts. Later he became the 
superintendent of a Sunday School, where he 
taught hundreds of boys and girls how to be good 
and true. 

His twelve-year-old daughter, " Dotty," was the 
little minister who started all this wonderful work. 
The little child did minister. 

What a preacher and minister jack-in-the-pulpit 
is. Big as life he stands in his pulpit in the wild 
woodland flower, and his sermons go thundering 
out from under that sounding board. Every little 
boy and girl is even more of a minister. 




Jhe Jndian I Cucumber- fioot 



Its f lower is beautiful. Its root is both food and 
medicmo, with a taste like that of cucumber t 



THE INDIAN CUCUMBER-ROOT 
Graves Thai Won't Stay Closed 

FLOWERS are very much like children. 
Some are bold, vainly displaying their 
merits, as if they had heard admiring com- 
ment, and others seem to be forever trying to hide 
their virtues. The delicate pale pink of some 
flower petals seems like a blush on their cheeks. 

Indian cucumber-root is one of those modest 
plants, because as it develops into usefulness, it 
tries to hide all its good deeds ; but it " could 
not be hid." People discovered its value, and 
sought it. 

This plant has real beauty and talent, yet it re- 
mains modest. We are not so much that way ; we 
try to hide our bad deeds, but with vanity tell 
everybody of our good works. The Master did 
just the opposite. He was like the Indian cucum- 
ber-root. There was no wrong in His life to hide, 
but every time He did good, He tried to hush it 
up. One day He attempted to slip away from the 
crowds for a rest, but the people pleaded for His 
help. St. Mark says, " Jesus could not hide Him- 
self." He could not be hid. 

35 



36 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEE8 TELL US 

The beautiful little flowers of the Indian cucum- 
ber-root are not easy to find, because they nod un- 
der the upper leaves of the plant, where they try 
to hide. The tall, slender stem grows from one to 
three feet high. The root is very thick, lies hori- 
zontally in the ground, and tastes like a cucumber. 
The Indians ate it, and we use it to-day in pre- 
paring various medicines. 

About midway on the stem, five to nine lance- 
shaped leaves grow out from the same joint in a 
circle. At the top there are three smaller similar 
leaves, and under these the flowers seek their hid- 
ing place. 

From New Brunswick to Manitoba and south- 
ward to the Gulf, the Indian cucumber-root will be 
found flowering in rich w T oods, during May and 
June. Its beauty pleased so many, and its virtues 
healed so many, it could not be hid. 

Children's lives are like that. Every child is 
beautiful and useful, but a child is mostly so when, 
like the Indian cucumber-root, having done a good 
deed, he tries to hide it deep in his own soul. 
Children who always tell the good they do soon 
lose their charms. 

According to the fairy tale, long years ago there 
was a king who was known for his great wisdom. 
Every day at noon a large covered dish was set be- 
fore him at dinner. One day after he left the 
table, the curious servant carried the dish to his 
own room, locked the door, then removed the 



THE INDIAN CUCUMBEB-EOOT 37 

cover, and found there on that dish a white snake. 
He tasted it, and the instant it touched his tongue 
he heard strange whisperings, for the piece of 
white snake which he had eaten had given him 
power to understand the speech of animals and 
birds. 

That very day the queen lost her ring, and this 
servant was accused of stealing it. He was al- 
lowed only twenty-four hours in which to get the 
ring. Bowed with sadness, he went out into the 
courtyard, and there he heard one duck say to an- 
other that he had swallowed a ring that morning. 
The servant seized the duck, and had it killed. 
When the cook was preparing it for roasting she 
found the ring in the duck's stomach. 

The king felt grieved to think he had falsely ac- 
cused his good servant, so he promised to grant 
him any favour he might ask. This servant was 
like the Indian cucumber-root, retiring and mod- 
est. He said, " O King, I do not wish honours, 
nor even high position. Just give me a horse and 
a little money. I wish to go away, and be alone." 

The king quickly gave him all he had asked for, 
and the servant started on a journey to hide him- 
self. He had not gone far when he saw three 
fish caught in the grass at the edge of a pond. 
Though no one was near to see him, he set the fish 
free. He heard them say, " We will often think 
of you, and some day you will be rewarded for 
having saved us." A little further on he heard a 



38 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

voice coming up from the sand. It was the ant- 
king, who complained because horses trampled on 
thousands of ants, and crushed them without 
mercy. He immediately turned his horse aside, 
and the ant-king said, " We will remember you, 
and reward you." Still further in the forest, he 
heard three baby crows say, " We cannot fly, we 
shall die of hunger." He drew his dagger, killed 
his horse, and left it for the crows to eat. He 
heard the baby crows say, " We will remember 
you, and reward you some day." 

Having no horse, he had to walk, and soon came 
to a town, where he learned that the king's daugh- 
ter desired a husband. When he saw her, he found 
her so beautiful that he loved her. The king said, 
"If you do what I ask, you may have my daugh- 
ter." 

The king threw a gold ring into the sea, and 
said to the servant, " Fetch that ring to me." 
While the servant was standing there three little 
fish came toward him, and the middle one laid a 
mussel at his feet. He opened it, and there was 
the ring. 

Then the king's daughter scattered ten sacks 
of grain over the grass. She allowed the servant 
until next day at sunrise to have it all picked up. 
He knew he could not do this, and being weary, 
fell asleep. While he slept, the ant-king, with 
thousands of ants, came, picked up every grain, 
and put them back into the bags. 



THE INDIAN CUCUMBER-KQOT 39 

Finally the king's daughter said, "You must 
bring me an apple from the tree of life." The 
servant did not even know where the tree grew; 
nevertheless he started to find it, and travelled 
until, all tired out, he lay under a tree to rest. He 
heard a rustling in the branches, and the golden 
apple fell into his hand. 

The three crows then perched on his knee, and 
told him how they had heard of his trouble, and so 
they had flown across the sea, to the end of the 
world, where stands the tree of life, and had got 
the apple. The servant then became the prince 
of the land, yet at first he had wanted to be alone. 

He thought he could hide his good deeds, but 
he couldn't. The graves in which he buried his 
kind acts as he went along through life, would not 
stay closed. 

Children, we cannot hide our good deeds. God 
will bring them all out before others for His own 
use. But if we boast and brag of all the good we 
do, our vanity and pride will spoil it all. If, 
however, like the Indian cucumber-root, or better 
still, if like Jesus, we go about quietly and humbly 
doing our duty each day, we too shall find a crown, 
and become princes among men. 







re Wood-Sorrel 

The salt from the wood -sorrel ts called Salts-oj- Lemon, 
and is fine for takinq mkstains out of table cloths and Hn 



linen 



VI 

THE WOOD-SORREL 

A World Where Three Make One 

ALTHOUGH we all live on this earth, we 
live in different worlds. Some live in a 
world of play, and others in a world of 
work. Some live in a world of happiness, and 
others in a world of sorrow. Some live in a world 
of evil, but others live in a world of righteousness. 
The righteous world is the Christian world. It 
is in this Christian world that they teach us the 
example in which three make One. 

The Great Teacher of the Christian life gives 
us a beautiful little wild flower that helps us to 
understand this peculiar problem. It is the wood- 
sorrel plant, that grows in cool and shady places, 
and over old stumps of trees, and often over the 
stubs of other plants. Because of this, some call 
it " Stub wort." When its flowers spring up, the 
cuckoo sings most, so some call it " Cuckoo's 
Meat." Others call it "Alleluia," because its 
white flowers appear between Easter and Whit- 
suntide. Very rarely are the flowers pink or pur- 
plish. The leaves fold down upon the stem in 
the evening, and remain firmly closed until next 
morning. 

41 



42 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

Wood-sorrel is believed by many to be the orig- 
inal Irish shamrock. At any rate, the " spooky- 
like " spots where it grows give to it an air of 
mystery. 

In Ireland, and in this country as well, it is used 
as a food. The leaves contain a delicious acid 
juice, and are fine for salads. Just below each 
bulb root there is a mild, crisp, turnip-shaped root, 
which can also be eaten. The Russians soak the 
leaves in water, then add milk, making a cooling 
acid drink, useful in cases of fever. In parts of 
Europe and in America many people crush the 
leaves and make a very appetizing green sauce for 
cooked fish. 

A salt is obtained from the wood-sorrel called 
" Salts of lemon." It is a mixture of oxalic acid 
with potash, and is one of the best things for 
taking ink-stains out of linen. 

There is something strange about this plant, for 
every now and then it grows a leaf with four 
petals. They say whoever finds one of these will 
soon be married, or will soon know his best friend. 

But others declare that the four-leaved wood- 
sorrel has charms. One man tells of a girl who 
when returning from milking the cows saw tiny 
fairies dancing on every mound of earth. Her 
playmates could see nothing, so they thought she 
was silly. The little girl insisted that she saw the 
fairies. When she reached home it was discovered 
that a four-leaved wood-sorrel had accidentally, 



THE WOOD-SOEEEL 43 

and unknown to her, fallen into her shoe. With 
this leaf in her shoe she could see the fairies. Chil- 
dren, find one, and put it in your shoe; see if it 
will make you see fairies, — folks say it will. 

We are told that St. Patrick used the wood- 
sorrel to teach people that God, the Father, Christ 
the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Comforter, were 
three Persons, yet One. The ancient Druid priests 
always respected this plant as an emblem of the 
mysterious Three in One. 

Every Sabbath, in church, when Christians re- 
cite the Creed, they state their belief in the Trinity. 
Trinity is a big word for little folks, but now is a 
good time to learn its meaning. It simply means 
three in one, and when we speak of The Trinity, 
we refer to the Three Divine Persons in One — God 
the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Some men say they cannot understand how God 
can be three Persons, yet only One. If Chris- 
tians tarried long with these men, they, too, would 
soon become confused. These disputers are try- 
ing to reach God through their brains, and they 
can never do it. But, if we live in the Christian 
world, we shall find it easy to learn that Three 
make One. 

Take a stroll into the woods. Forget the bick- 
ering brains. Aha ! There it is ! The little wood- 
sorrel plant. Pick it up and see how, in the form 
of its leaf, it shows us the First Person of the 
Trinity — God. It is composed of three leaves, yet 



U WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL US 

it is one leaf. Each leaflet is the same as the 
other, and all three form one leaf. So Father, 
Son and Holy Spirit are One. 

Then wood-sorrel shows us the Trinity in the 
wonderful work it accomplishes. On trees that 
have not given out leaves or fruit for years, trees 
of which nothing is left but ragged old rotten 
stumps, right there, on such stumps, the wood- 
sorrel blossoms. These old stumps are like people 
whose repeated wrong-doings have made them use- 
less. Yet, if they will trust in Christ, He will fill 
their lives with beauty, just as the wood-sorrel 
fills the old tree stump with its beauty. 

In one of the large hospitals of New York City 
a minister stood at the bedside of a dying man, 
who, though once strong and powerful, was now 
pale and bony. The sick man looked up and said, 
" Pastor, I have been a worthless man. I have 
wasted my life. Do you think Christ will save 
me ? " " Yes, indeed," answered the minister, 
" Christ will save all who come to Him, seeking 
forgiveness." 

The dying man then smiled, and the minister 
said it seemed to him as if a great number of little 
wood-sorrel plants shot up all around that bed, 
singing " Hallelujah ! Hallelujah ! Jesus saves ! " 
Jesus reaches down to the rotted stumps and 
wrecks of men, and blossoms out of their penitent 
hearts, that is, He makes ugly, useless sinners into 
pleasant, useful men and women. Isn't that a 



THE WOOD-SOEEEL 45 

wonderful work ? That is like the beautiful wood- 
sorrel that blossoms out of rotten old tree stumps. 

Then do not forget that the " Salts of lemon " 
that takes ink-stains out of linen is from wood- 
sorrel. So the blood of Christ washes all the 
black sin stains out of our hearts, and makes us 
whiter than the snow. And He will do this for 
the worst wreck of a life. Here is where the 
wood-sorrel shows us the Second Person of the 
Trinity, Christ. 

But in the way it ministers to man, wood-sorrel 
shows us the Third Person of the Trinity, the 
Holy Spirit. 

When Christ was about to leave this earth, He 
said, " I will not leave you comfortless, I will send 
the Comforter to you." The Comforter is the 
Holy Spirit, whose counsel to the sinner is like a 
cooling drink from the Spring of Life to a fevered 
man. This is like the leaves of the wood-sorrel 
that nourish weak bodies. So the Comforter 
nourishes weak souls. 

In all these ways God becomes the Restorer of 
Life. No wonder, then, that people look upon this 
little weed plant as it blooms over the top of a 
rotten old tree stump and say, "Alleluia." 




TheVa 



'arrow « or 



1 Milfoil 

The /eaves are whole some eat/no when 
chopped fino. and mixed with flakgd peanuts 



Y 



VII 

THE YARROW OR MILFOIL 

Driving Out Devils 

ARROW is one of those weeds that starts 
your imagination going, the instant its 
delicate, lace-like leaves and flower clus- 
ters appear. 

So many interesting things are told about this 
plant it seems as if it must grow in some fairy- 
land; yet here it is, peeping up out of the lawns, 
meadows, pastures, by the side of dusty roads, 
and by watery banks. It grows from six to 
eighteen inches high. 

The stem is simple or forked near the top, gray- 
green in colour, and stocky. At the top of this 
stem the flowers are bunched in clusters. Short, 
tube-shaped, yellowish florets make up the center 
of each flower, and as these grow older, they turn 
grayish, or brown in colour. Around these centers 
there are from four to six white petals. The 
leaves are soft and feathery, and alternate along 
the stem. 

Out by the side of the dusty road, where nearly 
every other plant dies, this sturdy yarrow plant 
will thrive. It is easily recognized, because of the 
strong, spicy odour that comes from its leaves. 

47 



48 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL US 

Some people would call it a straggling tramp 
flower, lounging along the highways of the coun- 
try, but it is really a food and tonic. In early 
spring, before the leaves are five inches tall, they 
make a wholesome salad, or can be eaten, chopped 
fine, and mixed with an equal weight of flaked 
peanuts. 

Many years ago some people in England con- 
sidered it a cure for distempers. Others chewed 
it to cure toothache. Still others rubbed it on 
their scalps, to keep from becoming bald-headed. 

To this day it is eaten, and also used in medi- 
cines. How generous God is to put so much good 
in a common highway weed. 

People in Scotland and England say that if you 
place a bunch of yarrow under your pillow, in 
midsummer, your best friend through life will ap- 
pear in a dream. Among the people of England 
this verse is still quoted: 

" Thou pretty herb of Venus tree 
Thy true name is yarrow, 
Now who my dearest friend shall be 
Prav tell thou me to-morrow." 



Doesn't that sound like a plant from fairy-land ? 

Some people in England and America called it 
" Devil's Nettle," because they said that by using 
it a person could discover lost or hidden articles, 
and could tell fortunes. 



THE YAEEOW OF MILFOIL 49 

But when a Christian sees the yarrow plant, and 
considers all its good qualities, he thinks of Christ. 

There is its claim to cure distempers, and then 
again its power over devils. It may be that these 
powers are only imaginary, nevertheless, the very 
sight of yarrow reminds us that the plant holds 
these claims. So yarrow reminds the Christian of 
Jesus, Who really can cure distempers, and Who 
really has power over devils. 

There was a lad who had a very bad temper, 
and one day the evil spirit put it into his mind to 
stab his brother. The boy did it, but fortunately 
the wound was not serious. Later Jesus came into 
that bad boy's heart, and threw out the evil spirits, 
the devils. Jesus always drives out evils from the 
hearts of children who make Him their Friend. 
He always urges us to do good deeds, and is like 
a tonic to persons who have weak wills. 

Yarrow lives by the side of the dusty road where 
nearly everything else will die. Does not this 
make us think of Christ, Who survives and holds 
out where every one else would die? 

One day Jesus came upon a road where two wild 
young men lived, who were filled with evil spirits. 
No one else could live near them ; no one else even 
dared to pass that way. But Jesus came along 
that dusty road, in the land of the Gergesenes, and 
like the yarrow plant, He thrived there. His 
beauty of character and power showed up plainly 
there. 



50 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

As He walked up that road, the devils came fly- 
ing at Him, but, recognizing Him, they cried out, 
" Have you come to kill us before our time is up ? " 
They knew Jesus would do something with them, 
so they begged to be sent into a herd of swine 
near by. Jesus said to those devils, " Go ! " and 
they went. 

The poor pigs went mad, rushed into the sea, 
and perished. Jesus has real power over devils, 
and it is always safe for children to call upon Him 
for help. 

As the flower of the yarrow grows up out of a 
soft feathery leaf, so this power of Christ's comes 
out of a soft and easy manner. 

When the Indians went out against their foes, 
they smeared themselves with streaks of different 
coloured paints, then danced wildly about, and 
screamed out their war yells; and when the Chi- 
nese went into battle, they stuck huge, hideous 
false faces on the top of long poles, and ran out 
against the enemy. This they did, thinking they 
would frighten those who fought against them. 

Jesus does not screech war yells, nor paste Him- 
self up with war paints, nor does He use false 
faces. He simply stands in an easy and quiet, 
but firm manner, and says to the devils, " Go," and 
they go. 

As softly and gracefully as notes come from a 
harp, does Jesus work His great works. The 
Bible tells us that King Saul would often be- 



THE YAEEOW OF MILFOIL 51 

come seized with evil spirits. He would rage, and 
swear, and tear about like a lunatic. It was one 
of David's duties to calm the king at such times. 
But David did not leap upon the king's neck, or 
grab him by the throat, throw him to the ground, 
plant his foot on the king's breast, and then shout, 
" You be good and quiet ! " Had David done this, 
he never would have calmed the king. 

Instead, young David ran for his harp, and 
gracefully moved his fingers over the strings, fill- 
ing the room with music. The instant the soft, 
sweet notes reached the ears of the king, he was 
calmed, and the evil spirits departed. This is just 
the way Jesus works. As easily and tenderly as 
sweet notes from the harp, does Jesus approach 
the devils. He then says, " Go," and they go. 

To sit on the stump of an old basswood tree, by 
the side of the dusty road, and there talk for a 
while with the yarrow plant, is like taking a trip 
to fairy-land, or better still, like a visit to some 
cathedral where mighty sermons are preached. 

In such a conversation children will learn from 
the yarrow plant to do their duty, quietly and 
bravely, and without frantic boasts. They will 
learn to do acts of kindness in the hard dusty 
places of life. Oh, that all little boys and girls 
were like the yarrow plant ! 




Jhe forget -rriQ -not 
/he universal emblem of -friendship 



VIII 

THE FORGET-ME-NOT 

Having Supper With a Friend 

FRIENDS are more precious than jewels, 
and it takes time to make real friends. 
The dainty forget-me-not flower is the 
emblem of friendship all over the world. Its 
beautiful blue colour stands for faithfulness. Of 
a faithful friend we say, " Yes, he is true blue, 
he is." 

In Europe, Asia, Nova Scotia, New England, 
New York and all through the southern part of 
America the little, common, wild forget-me-not is 
at home. It is not a showy plant, but like real 
friendship is humble. Its stem is rather stout and 
smooth, but weak. Its leaves are rough and fuzzy. 
The whole plant does not grow more than twelve 
inches high. 

The stems curve at the ends, and on one side 
of the curved ends the flowers blossom in clusters. 
Each flower has five sky-blue petals, with a yellow 
center. The buds are pink. Children will stumble 
across it while roaming beside brooks, rivers, 
ponds, stagnant ditches, and little tiny rivulets. 
When cultivated it produces a much larger flower. 

53 



54 WHAT THE "WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

And in this it is again like real friendship. If we 
respect and love our friends, that is, cultivate our 
friendships, they will give us more and more of 
their loveliness, just as the cultivated forget-me- 
not does. 

Gather the blossom stalks regularly, and it will 
continue in bloom throughout the entire summer. 

'Way down in the Nile valley, and even out in 
the desert, the forget-me-not grows, and the 
Egyptians in that locality believe that the juice 
strengthens the eyesight. 

It is not only beautiful to look upon, but is also 
valuable as a food. Here is a flower that is at 
once beautiful and useful. There are some people 
in this country who prepare the flowers and leaves 
of the forget-me-not into a very " tasty " salad. 

Then where did that sweet name hail from? 
No one knows who first called it forget-me-not. 
Some people called it mouse-ear, because the 
downy leaf seemed like the ear of a mouse. The 
Welsh people have a beautiful name for it. They 
call it " Christ's Eye," because of its clear true- 
blue colour. 

Here is another story about its name. A young 
man and woman were walking one day along the 
banks of the Rhine River, in Germany. Sud- 
denly they looked across the river, and out on an 
island they noticed millions of beautiful little blue 
flowers. The young man, eager to pick a bunch 
of these flowers for his sweetheart, plunged into 



THE FOKGET-ME-KOT 55 

the river and swam for the island. He reached 
it, picked the flowers, and was returning, holding 
the bunch in one hand above water. As he neared 
the spot where the lady was waiting for him he 
was caught in a swift current. He knew he could 
not reach her and that he would be dragged down 
under the stream by that sweeping current, so he 
tossed the flowers to her, shouting several times, 
" Vergiss - mein - nicht ! Vergiss - mein - nicht ! " 
These words mean, " forget-me-not, forget-me- 
not." 

Some say that ever since that time the little blue 
flower has been called forget-me-not. And as the 
emblem of friendship it has been stamped on 
jewelry and a thousand and one other things. 

When we stop to think that the flower is the 
gift of God, in His work of creation, the friend- 
ship it symbolizes is not so much that which exists 
between men, but rather that deeper and holier 
friendship which exists between Christ and His 
people. The forget-me-not is more likely to make 
us think of — 

" What a Friend we have in Jesus, 
All our sins and griefs to bear ; 
What a privilege to carry 
Everything to God in prayer." 

In all Christian churches there is a service 
which many consider to be the most beautiful. 
The Church calls it the Communion Service, or the 



56 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL US 

Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Let us call it 
the Forget-Me-Not service. 

There is a hymn we sometimes sing which de- 
scribes heaven as being located on the opposite 
shore of a river. It reads like this: 

" On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, 
And cast a wishful eye 
To Canaan's fair and happy land, 
Where my possessions lie." 

For millions of years, so many millions no one 
can count them, Jesus dwelt on that opposite 
shore. Looking upon this old world that floated 
like a huge island in a stream, He saw children 
growing up beautifully, then suddenly wither and 
die in sins that swept over their lives like hot, 
scorching blasts. He planned to visit this world, 
and pluck these children with His own hand, and 
carry them back to God. 

He came, and the story of His coming we re- 
peat every Christmas time. He gathered a small 
group of people together and in His tender way 
taught and trained them. A little later He knew 
He would have to surrender His life for the chil- 
dren He came to pick for God. So He invited 
His friends or disciples to meet with Him, and at 
this meeting He explained how He would be cruci- 
fied, but assured them He would arise out of the 
grave, and thus conquer death. 

Supper was served at the meeting, and it is 



THE FOKGET-ME-NOT 57 

often referred to as the Last Supper. As Jesus 
handed His disciples bread to eat, and wine to 
drink, He said, " This do in remembrance of Me." 
That is, " Forget-Me-not, forget-Me-not." In 
other words, He said, "After I am gone, see that 
My people meet with each other frequently, at a 
little supper like this. As often as they eat the 
bread, let them think of My body, which I have 
offered in suffering, to save them from death ; and 
as often as they drink the wine, let them think of 
My blood, which I have shed for their purifying 
and redemption. Let them forget-Me-not." 

Now everything happened just as Jesus explained 
it, for shortly after this He was crucified, and it 
was as if some mighty current swept Him on to 
death. Immediately before His death, He tossed 
all His children up toward God; that is, He gave 
them into God's care. Not until He had placed 
every child, and that includes us, safely into His 
Father's hands, did He die. Then He did arise, 
so that all who believed on Him should also arise 
from the grave, and live with Him forever on that 
other shore, the heavenly shore. 

Oh, little forget-me-not ! Wonderful symbol of 
friendship. True blue in every petal, then down 
in the heart center, some say yellow, let us say — 
gold. 




Common 
rlantain 
me leaves soothe insect stings -young leaves good eating. 



IX 

THE COMMON PLANTAIN 

The Spike that Bloomed 

WHOEVER heard of flowers growing out 
of a spike? Well, if you will look in 
many an ill-kept dooryard and vacant 
lot, you will see a plant called " Common Plan- 
tain," and its flowers grow out of a spike. 

The flowers bloom one after the other, from the 
bottom of the spike to the top, so that only a few, 
and not the entire spike of flowers, are in bloom 
at one time. The lowest flowers often wither and 
die while the middle flowers are still in bloom. 
The tiny white flowers open in circles around the 
long spike head, and keep growing from June 
until September. The large, spreading leaves of 
this weed plant spread out from the root. 

Here, then, we have the spike that blooms. 

The seeds of the common plantain are carried 
by the wind, because it has no bright colours, such 
as attract various insects. 

This is by no means the only spike God has 
made to bloom. Many years ago, God told Moses 
to take several rods, or wands, one of which be- 

59 



60 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEBS TELL US 

longed to Aaron, his brother, and place them in a 
certain tent. Moses did as he was told, and the 
next morning when he went to look at them he 
found that Aaron's rod, or spike, had budded, and 
that flowers had grown out of the rod. Moses 
knew by this sign that God wished to make Aaron 
a minister to serve the children of Israel, while 
they were journeying through the wilderness. 

So we must not snub this common weed plant 
with the spike that blooms, for in it we shall find 
how thoughtful and kind God is to His people. 

There are people in different parts of Europe, 
and once in a while we meet some in America also, 
who believe that flowers have souls. For this 
reason they will not pick them, but let them die on 
their stems, because they believe the soul of the 
plant will depart to meet its own kind in plant 
heaven. Plantain loves so much to be near man, 
we might well believe it has a soul. It seems to 
follow man everywhere. The thorn-apple tracked 
the Gypsies out of Asia into all parts of Europe. 
And so closely has the plantain tracked the white 
man that the sharp-witted North American In- 
dian calls it " The footstep of the White." Some 
named it " Plantago " because the form of the 
leaf resembles the sole of the human foot. Others 
say it was so named because of its fondness for 
the edges of paths and roads, forever seeking hu- 
man society, and haunting the travels of man. 

It humbly offers its leaves as a salve for bruises, 



THE COMMON PLANTAIN 61 

burns, cuts, or sores, which a traveller might have 
received on the road. It is therefore called the 
" healing plant." There is a German story that 
once a young girl, watching by the wayside for 
her lover, was changed into a weed by magic, yet 
so true was her love, that even now as a weed she 
watches, out of the common plantain plant. 

But plantain is also very good to eat. The 
young leaves are " tasty " when chopped and 
mixed with nuts and honey. People say it is a 
weed; nevertheless it is a food that grows freely 
at their very door-steps. 

One species is excellent for sheep and cattle. 
Another variety grows seeds covered with a sticky 
coating, and manufacturers use it for stiffening the 
finer kind of linen. It is also used for making 
paper. The fresh leaves, rubbed on parts of the 
body stung by insects and nettles, will soothe the 
irritation. What wonders behind this spike that 
blooms! A great scientist once called it a de- 
generate flower; and others call it a persistent in- 
truder; but those who know it better call it 
" wound-weed." With our world all upset by 
labour difficulties, and social problems, plantain 
still follows in the footsteps of man. It follows 
with a song, and this is the song, " The leaves are 
for the healing of the nations." 

When you look at plantain, you cannot help say- 
ing what Moses said when he saw the burning 
bush, " I will now turn aside and see this great 



62 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

sight." Once I walked smack into a spider's web 
that had been stretched across the road. That old 
genius of a spider seemed to know just how high 
my mouth was from the ground, for that was 
where I caught it. And I almost went crazy, spit- 
ting and brushing, trying to get rid of that web. 
Some have stopped to see the great sight of the web 
and have learned marvels from it. To thousands 
a spider's web seems like a useless old spike — 
something that harms and does not help. Yet one 
day Samuel Brown, the great engineer, weary 
from trying to plan a bridge across the Tweed 
River, went out into his garden, and soon came 
face to face with a spider's web. He raised his 
hand and was about to brush it madly away, but 
changed his mind. Instead, he stood there, study- 
ing the work of that spider. He saw how the 
spider held the main cord of the web, with 
threads that hung down from a drooping cable of 
network, and he quickly rushed back into his 
study and sketched the suspended spider's web on 
paper. Then he made one with ropes. And out of 
that spider's web grew the Brooklyn Bridge. 

When constructed, it was the greatest suspen- 
sion bridge in the world. Thirteen years in build- 
ing, with its span more than a mile in length, its 
towers two hundred and seventy-eight feet above 
high water, this wonder of engineering work grew 
out of a spider's web. The web was like an ugly 
spike that seemed useless; the Brooklyn Bridge, 



THE COMMON PLANTAIK 63 

still considered the most beautiful of them all, was 
the flower that was found when the spike was ex- 
amined. Behold, the rod, — the web, — bloomed. 

To the Samaritans the Jews were like ugly 
spikes. When Jesus went one day into Samaria, 
He met a woman by a well, and asked her for a 
drink of water. She said, " What, you a Jew, and 
ask me for water ? " Then Jesus spoke tenderly 
to her, yet told her the secrets of her life. He also 
told her many beautiful things. She was amazed, 
and no longer did she see in Him a hated Jew — 
an ugly spike; because hid all about Him were 
beautiful words and kind thoughts that seemed 
like delicate flowers. Surely Jesus must have ap- 
peared to that woman like a rod that bloomed. 

Like the plantain, Jesus haunts the track of man. 
He is ever near to give out His healing virtues to 
weary souls. Jesus may seem at times like a hard 
taskmaster, or without beauty, like a spike, un- 
comely and sharp; but, on closer study, He be- 
comes the healing salve for all the wounds sin has 
put upon man while travelling the road of life. 

Some say of Jesus, " There is no beauty in Him, 
that we should desire Him." Remember plan- 
tain looks like an ugly spike, and hasn't even one 
attractive colour that might draw insects to it ; but 
it is food, medicine, and life. It is so with Christ. 

Samson took honey out of the lion's carcass, 
and here we are taking flowers out of a spike. 




The 

Affalja flowers 

/his plant is easily di- 
oested, and it will fatten a boy as jutckly as it will a cow . 



X 

THE ALFALFA FLOWERS 
Getting a Good Grip 

FLOWERS may seem to be very flimsy 
things, blossoming in the morning and 
withering at sundown. But, even admit- 
ting this to be so with the flower, the message it 
leaves is as lasting as fern impressions in slate 
rock. 

Many, many years ago, when coal was being 
formed in the earth, ferns and flowers fell upon 
the soft surface soil, and after a little while were 
covered over with deposits of sand and mud. The 
soft soil and mud hardened into slate rock through 
the centuries, and now, though thousands of years 
have passed by, miners dig out large pieces of slate 
stone which bear perfect imprints of those ferns 
and flowers. These impressions are so perfect that 
under a magnifying glass every tiny vein and 
formation of the ferns and flowers can be plainly 
seen. 

If we will let God's ways, and teachings, and 
love, make a deep impression in our natures, then 
we shall be rooted and grounded in the love of 
God, and even though crushed like the fern, under 

65 



66 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

the weight of a world, we shall not be destroyed, 
but, instead, the finest lines of our characters will 
become clearer. 

In waste places, and in fields almost anywhere, 
we find the alfalfa flower growing wild. It will 
grow in sandy and stony soil, where it is impos- 
sible to raise a crop of hay. The roots go down 
deep into the sub-soil, and therefore take up min- 
eral elements that many other plants cannot reach. 
That is why this flower contains albumen, which 
builds the tissues of the body, fibrine, which makes 
a perfect blood, calcium, which makes bones and 
teeth, sulphur, which makes hair, nails and skin, 
iron, which burns up all impurities in the blood, 
sodium, which keeps away poisonous acids, and 
potassium, which makes the muscles solid. What 
marvellous food God has stored in the simple leaves 
and flowers of this deep rooted plant. 

The flowers are a pretty purple, and grow in 
clusters at the end of slender branches. Each leaf 
is made up of three smaller, narrow leaves, with 
three very narrow leaflets at their base. The plant 
grows from one to two feet high. 

Alfalfa flowers are fattening; therefore the 
" skinny " boy or girl ought to eat plenty of them. 
They will fatten a boy as quickly as they will a 
cow. It is an easily digested food for cattle and 
man alike. 

Many years ago the society ladies in Media ate 
these flowers to keep their beauty. Some people 



THE ALFALFA FLOWEES 67 

in America mix the flowers with salad herbs and 
leaves, to give the salad a delicious flavour. It is 
also good to calm excited nerves. 

Alfalfa is not fickle, but teaches the lesson of 
depth and resoluteness. It teaches us not to com- 
plain of our lot in life, but to make the best of 
what we have. If we seem to be living where 
everything goes against us, as if we were planted 
in sandy, stony soil, then let us send our deter- 
mination deep into every opportunity, just as the 
alfalfa sends its roots deep into the sub-soil, and 
we shall soon find our reward. 

Abraham Lincoln, when a child, did not refuse 
to read or study, just because he had no electric 
light, but he made the best use of what he had, 
which was the flame from the large open fire- 
place, and so he won. 

Bible history tells us of another Abraham, who 
made the best use of what he had. He was the 
founder of the Israelitish race, so the Israelites call 
him " Father Abraham." One day his servants 
quarrelled with his nephew's servants. There did 
not seem to be enough land to furnish grass and 
grain for the cattle of both. 

When Abraham heard of the dispute between 
the servants, he went to Lot, his nephew, and said, 
" Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me 
and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herd- 
men, for we be brethren." Abraham then told 
Lot to take his choice of the land. Lot, of course, 



68 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEKS TELL US 

selected the rich and fertile valley that was wa- 
tered by the river Jordan, and Abraham took what 
was left, which was nothing but the stony slopes 
of Bethel. 

Lot must have thought that his uncle was crazy 
to give up that fine fertile valley, but the valley led 
down toward the cities of Sodom and Gomor- 
rah — very wicked places. 

Lot could not understand why his uncle was 
willing to take the stony hillside. The Apostle 
Paul tells us that if we are " rooted and grounded 
in the love of God," we shall be able to compre- 
hend. Comprehend is a big word for little folks ; 
but, as little folks will soon become big, they must 
become acquainted with some big words, and com- 
prehend simply means understand. Lot could not 
understand, because he did not love God with all 
his heart ; he loved pleasure and riches more. 

Abraham was like the alfalfa plant, rooted deep 
in faith and love. He knew God could make 
plenty of grass and grain grow even on stony 
ground. Like the alfalfa, then, Abraham did his 
best in the stony soil, and God blessed him. His 
cattle and servants found more than enough on 
the stony hillside. The alfalfa will grow in good 
soil, but give it the stony soil and it will do its 
best. It digs deep and takes a good grip, and 
that is why it wins. 

Lot was a shallow-minded youth, and though in 
possession of the better land, he soon became en.' 



THE ALFALFA FLOWERS 69 

tangled in the evils of Sodom and Gomorrah, and 
very nearly lost everything he had. 

But Abraham was rooted deeply in God's love, 
and as a result he grew richer and richer on the 
stony soil. Only God's faithful children can un- 
derstand how God does this. 

That dainty little purple alfalfa flower, that 
often gives three crops in one season, and is so 
rich in food value, gives us a hint of the secret of 
its strength. It is deep-rooted, and it does not 
faint if the soil is dry and stony — it makes the 
best of it — it works its way down deeper and 
deeper with its roots, until it finds the best nour- 
ishment of the sub-soil. 

Oh, if children everywhere would just take a 
firm hold upon God's love and truth, they would 
be able to comprehend, understand, what God 
plans for them. They would know how to make 
the most out of every hard place in life, and would 
soon find success. Rich and nourishing fruit 
would grow up out of all their disappointments, 
sorrows, hindrances and even poverty. 

Yes, little Alfalfa Flower, you may seem like 
something that blossoms in the morning and dies 
at night, but you have made an impression upon 
me that will last as long as my soul lasts. 



j- --: 




7/ie petals make a~Jine sandwich tv/th bread or cookies . 
The seed pods are collected for winter food 6y the Indians., 






XI 

THE WATER LILY 

Feeding the Wanderer 

CHILDREN and adults alike are attracted 
to the pure white water lily. The four 
leaves underneath, greenish outside and 
whitish inside, holding so many pure, waxy-white 
petals, make a flower of rare beauty. 

It can be found from June until September, in 
ponds, lakes, and where water is either still, or 
slow-moving. The large flat leaves float grace- 
fully like little rafts on the water top. In this 
same flower family there is the yellow pond lily, 
often called the cow lily. 

There are some people in the United States who 
claim that ninety-five per cent, of the indigestion 
suffered is due to the eating of cooked foods. 
They have formed a society in which all the mem- 
bers agree to eat only natural foods; that is, they 
agree not to cook anything. So they eat pota- 
toes, beets and all other vegetables raw. They 
eat only natural foods, which, they say, are grains, 
nuts, crisp herbs, roots, sweet fruits and water. 
These folks make a salad of the water lily petals 
by mixing them with grated cocoanut, or flaked 

7i 



72 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL US 

pignolia nuts, and often eat the petals without the 
nuts mixed. 

Not long ago something happened in the moun- 
tains of upper New York State. The tale is worth 
listening to, for it may teach us how to save our 
own lives some day. The mountains are known 
as the Adirondacks, and the deer hunters and 
raccoon trappers find these woods full of their 
game. 

Some people roam through these mountains to 
see the wonderful beaver dams, or to hike over the 
trails. There are no streets with sign posts to 
direct the hiker or hunter. Very often the trail 
is barely visible, being covered with fallen leaves, 
and strewn with rotten trees. This causes people 
to lose their way, and when any one is lost in the 
mountains it is a serious matter. 

There are no policemen to direct you. There 
are no houses within reach, where you might get 
food, or sleeping room. You just have to sleep 
out-of-doors, as the Master did many times. But 
Jesus was never harmed while resting in mountain 
wilds, because God protected Him, and this prom- 
ise of protection is given to every one who trusts 
God. God will keep us, even as He kept Jesus, 
for He tells us He " will never leave " us, " nor 
forsake " us. We may lose our trail in the high, 
wild mountain, but we can never lose God. 

One morning at about half-past four, Harold 
Wingate started from his bungalow, beside Lake 



THE WATER LILY 73 

Twitchell, determined to make the trail to a place 
called Wood's Landing. He was not long getting 
into his little guide-boat and paddling across the 
lake to the beginning of the trail. He took with 
him six slices of buttered bread and some cookies, 
enough for one day. Reaching the other side of 
the lake, he slung his guide-boat over his shoul- 
ders and began the hike. 

After walking for more than three hours he 
discovered that he had lost his trail. He searched 
for marks on trees or rocks that might lead him 
to another trail, but night came on and he decided 
to stay right where he was. He built and lighted 
a fire, knelt and said his prayers, asking God to 
care for him through the night, then turned his 
boat upside down, crawled under it, and went to 
sleep. 

Morning soon came and hundreds of unseen 
birds were chirping a bright song of hope to 
Harold Wingate. He came out from under his 
boat, knelt again in prayer, and thanked God for 
protecting him through a dark and lonely night in 
the wild woodland. 

With fresh energy he now took up his search for 
a trail, and was not long finding one. This new 
trail led him to a lake, where he rested a while. 
He was very hungry but had only six cookies left. 
He had no tackle with which to catch fish, nor gun 
with which to shoot game. What was he to do? 

Harold remembered his father's telling him 



74 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

about the meals the Indians used to make from 
the roots, weeds and wild flowers. His father 
long since had told him that the beautiful waxy- 
water lily was not merely a wild waste flower, 
growing to fill up space, but that God had planted 
the lily in the mountain lakes to keep wanderers 
and lone hikers from starving to death. He re- 
membered that the seed pods of the water lily were 
an important article of food to the Indians, who 
collected them in large quantities and kept them 
for winter use. He remembered also that the 
petals of the lilies were fine food. He knew that 
many of those mountain lakes grew patches of 
water lilies, so he launched his boat and was out 
among some in a jiffy. 

He plucked a tiny heap of water lily petals, and 
placed them between two cookies. Think of it — 
a water lily sandwich, — and he did relish it. 

Finishing up his sandwich, he gathered more 
petals, put them into his kit, then paddled on 
across the lake. 

It was about ten o'clock at night when Harold 
stumbled into his bungalow, weary, but happy. 
He had been away two days and his family had 
just arranged to send out a searching party to 
hunt for him. 

His family were all eager to hear of his ex- 
periences, but Harold was most interested in the 
water lily sandwiches. Three water lily sand- 
wiches were all he had eaten that day, and they 



THE WATEE LILY 75 

had sufficiently sustained him for his wearisome 
trip. 

He told them how he had remembered father's 
stories about the Indians feeding upon water lilies, 
and so he tried it. But said he, " Folks, while I 
was eating those water lily petals I somehow 
thought of the sustaining power of Christ, and 
there came to my mind that verse in the Bible, 
which some interpret as relating to Christ, " I am 
the Lily!" 

As Harold was being sustained by the nutrition 
of the water lily petals, he could not help thinking 
of the virtue and strength in Christ that sustains 
children when they are lost, or in dangerous places, 
for when a child trusts in Christ he can go through 
a great deal of hardship. 

Christ sustains boys and girls in their wander- 
ings. He will not let them die, but instead puts 
them on the trail that leads to nutritious food, and 
He gives strength to them all along the journey of 
life. 

A wild weed flower, yes, that is what some say, 
and it may be so, but with it all, it is a treasure 
from God to the weary, foot-sore traveller who 
has lost his trail. 




JfiQ uwamp I Jionpysuckle 

When young , it bears { \a bud, called the May 
Or Swamp Apple, which is relished by country children 



XII 

THE SWAMP HONEYSUCKLE 

Training Time 

IN most swamps there is a beautiful flower that 
by its blossom and fruitage reminds children 
of the best time in which to train themselves 
for a useful life. 

God did say to some, " Go to the ant, thou slug- 
gard, consider her ways, and be wise." But here 
He seems to say to children, " Go to the swamp 
honeysuckle, or white azalea, as it is often called, 
consider her ways, and be wise." 

This shrub grows handsome, fragrant, white 
flowers, which bloom in great numbers, in low, wet 
swamps, during June and July. In rare cases the 
flowers are tinged with pink. It is a very branchy 
bush, growing from three to eight feet in height. 

The country lads watch this plant in its early 
bloom, because at that time it grows something 
like a bud, that is pulpy and juicy, and this bud- 
like fruit is known as a May, or swamp apple. 
At one time people thought these were fungus 
growths caused by insects. All the way from 
Maine to Ohio, and southward, the children enjoy 

77 



78 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEKS TELL TJS 

eating these swamp apples. Again, in the swamp, 
where we would hardly expect to find any good 
thing, God has set up a table covered with goodies 
for the wanderer to eat. 

Consider this swamp honeysuckle, and it will 
soon be discovered that the best training time for 
any business, calling, or profession in life, is in 
childhood. Many boys and girls treat their child- 
hood with indifference, and when they grow up 
they are untrained — unfit for responsibility. 

Parents often handicap a child in the Chris- 
tian life, by insisting that their church training 
come later, in young manhood and womanhood. 
But time flies on, other attractions switch the 
child from church, and before it can be realized 
the child has become a man or woman without 
Christian training. Consider the swamp honey- 
suckle. 

The early days of the flower are the days when 
the food bulbs form. So in the early days of all 
child life, character and habits find their forma- 
tion, that remains through all later years. An ugly 
child will most likely be an ugly man or woman. 
A sweet child will most likely be a sweet per- 
sonality all through life. The early days are the 
pliable days, the impressionable days ; they are the 
days for child training. 

Josiah was a boy only eight years of age when 
he became king of Judah. He was anxious to be 
a good and wise king, because the people were very 



THE SWAMP HONEYSUCKLE 79 

sinful. So he began in childhood to prepare his 
character and mind for the work of ruling, and he 
began by seeking after God. At twenty he was 
very familiar with the Word of God, and en- 
couraged the reading of it in the Temple. He 
threw out from Judah all images, put a stop to 
idolatry, and persuaded the people to read the 
Bible, or as much of it as was then known. The 
Bible says he was one who " did that which was 
right in the eyes of the Lord." 

But, let us remember that while Josiah was yet 
young, in early childhood, he prepared for this 
noble work by seeking after the Lord. Josiah in 
Judah was like a sweet honeysuckle in a swamp. 

What terrible wild men Cannibals were. Why, 
they would seize the missionaries who went to 
civilize and Christianize them, stew them over a 
large fire, and then feast on the boiled or roasted 
human flesh. What a dismal, swamp-like life the 
Cannibal lived. 

About the year 1866 Dr. John G. Paton went to 
the Aniwa Island, in the New Hebrides, east of 
Australia, and there he found some of these sav- 
age Cannibals. He knew that on the islands in the 
Coral Sea and South Pacific Ocean, many other 
missionaries had been eaten by the savages, yet 
he went to them. 

At first the Cannibals fought Dr. Paton, but a 
little later they permitted him to build his house 
on a hill where the bones of the other victims of 



80 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL US 

Cannibal feasts had been thrown. This was a spot 
sacred to the Cannibal gods, and it was the hope 
of the savages that the gods would destroy Dr. 
Paton. But when the wild human flesh eaters 
saw that no harm came to him they were willing 
to listen to his story about a God Who was 
stronger than their idol gods. 

In a couple of years Dr. Paton built a church 
there, and soon the entire population was Chris- 
tianized. What a change! The life of the sav- 
age — a swamp life, filled with filthy habits, — made 
as sweet as the swamp honeysuckle, because away 
back there in childhood little Johnny Paton trained 
to serve God and man. 

The secret of that gentle and sweet nature that 
bubbled out of Dr. Paton's manner was in his 
childhood training. His parents knew well that 
the best training time for a child is when the child 
is young. 

They encouraged John to become a Christian 
while still a child. His mother was a woman of 
strong faith. One day the meal barrel was empty, 
and they were too poor to buy more. John's 
mother said, " Do not worry, children, I have told 
God our need, and He will care for us." Within 
a few hours a bag of potatoes came from Mrs. 
Paton's father. Little John said he never forgot 
this lesson, and he declared afterward that it had 
a lasting effect on his religious life. 

He was only a child when he determined to be- 



THE SWAMP HONEYSUCKLE 81 

come a missionary. So after years of hard work 
and reading, he completed his studies in medicine 
and theology. 

This early training fitted him for his hard trials 
among the savages. Having been led by prayerful 
parents in his childhood, he learned well the 
power of prayer. And, when he came to the 
swamp-life of Cannibals, he was able to grow up 
among them, as a swamp honeysuckle grows up in 
a filthy sw T amp. His service to the Cannibals 
seemed just as if he were giving out to them hun- 
dreds of sweet, juicy May apples all the time, for 
he never lost an opportunity to fill their minds 
with the beautiful and helpful Word of God. 

It was early training that made John G. Paton 
a successful missionary to the wild savages of the 
Coral Sea Islands. It was early training that 
made it possible for him to become known as 
" The man who conquered the Cannibals.'' 

Go to the swamp honeysuckle, thou waster of 
thy young days, consider her ways, and be wise. 



Arrow- Leaf 




/he Chinese and Jnfyctns \fihd food in this plant '. 
me root is /iko q small potafyb, and good eat/ no. 



XIII 

THE ARROW LEAF OR ARROW-HEAD 

Shooting Arrows 

ONE of the first playthings a lad makes for 
himself is a bow and arrow. An old 
barrel hoop and some staves furnish the 
material. Tin cans on boxes or fences furnish the 
targets, and sometimes the children play " In- 
dians." 

The Bible tells us many interesting stories about 
shooting arrows. One is of how Jonathan talked 
to David by shooting arrows to him. Three ar- 
rows shot into the woods told David that Jona- 
than's father, the king, was very angry, and it 
would not be safe for David to return to the 
house. So they talked by shooting arrows. 

God shoots arrows down to us, and we can 
shoot arrows up to Him. 

There is a plant called arrow leaf that grows in 
most parts of our country, on muddy shores, and 
that flowers in June. The flowers are white, have 
three petals, and grow in circles of three around 
the stem. The leaf looks just like an arrow. 
Some say it is the most beautiful of water plants. 

83 



84 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEKS TELL US 

God talks to men with this arrow-head plant. 
He told men that life and not death was to be 
found in it, but men made arrow-heads and put 
death into them. God put life into His. 

The Indians and Chinese found food and life in 
this plant, and some tribes ate the root by boiling 
or roasting it. The root is usually like a small 
potato, yet some grow as large as a man's fist. 
Millions in Europe feed upon it, and in America 
the Indians eat it freely. 

See how ungrateful men are. After getting all 
this good food and life out of the arrow-head 
plant, they used it as a pattern for stone arrows, 
which they dipped in poison and then shot into 
other men's bodies. God wants little children to 
shoot arrows, but not the arrows that kill. 

The Psalmist, David, was surrounded by 
enemies, and he cried out, " Oh God, shoot out 
thine arrows, and discomfit them." So God has 
given us arrows to shoot every time our enemies 
come near, but they are arrows that will not kill; 
they only discomfit or perplex the enemy. 

As all children know, an arrow has three points, 
and, by the way, each arrow leaf has three points, 
each flower has three petals, and the flowers grow 
out of the stems in threes. And this reminds us 
that God has three wonderful arrows for children 
to set in their bows, every time the enemy comes 
near. The Quiver in which these arrows can be 
found is the Bible. It is a Quiver children can 



THE ARROW LEAF OE ARROW-HEAD 85 

always carry with them. Soldier boys carried it 
on the battle-field. Missionaries carry it when 
they go out to face wild and dangerous enemies. 
Sick folks keep it near their bedsides. Thousands 
carry it with them in daily life to be ready when 
temptations come. It is full of arrows that dis- 
comfit or perplex the enemy of our happiness. 

There are moments when even little children 
feel discouraged. They sometimes have a feeling 
that no one cares for them, and they are ready to 
leave Sunday School and Church. They see some 
disobedient boy doing about as he pleases, and 
thinking he is having a good time they join him. 
Children with such thoughts are listening to the 
enemy of their souls. 

That is the time to go to the Quiver for an 
arrow, that is, to the Bible, for some wise and 
helpful word from God. In a flash God will 
point you to a verse like this, " By faith, Moses 
. . . chose rather to suffer affliction with the 
people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin 
for a season." Faith in God, that is the arrow. 
Put it in your bow, quickly, and let it fly at the 
enemy, for when Satan sees a child trusting in 
God, he is discomfited and perplexed. 

Then at times some children are tempted to 
steal, because they do not have as many pretty 
things as other children. Ernestine, who was only 
twelve years of age, was employed by Mrs. 
Bromwell to mind the babv. Mrs. Bromwell had 



86 WHAT THE "WILD FLOWEKS TELL US 

a daughter about the size and age of Ernestine, 
who had many pretty dresses. Ernestine coveted 
one of those dresses, so one day she slipped the 
pretty dress under her coat and went home with 
it. 

When Ernestine's mother saw what her little 
girl had done, she made her return the garment 
immediately, and as soon as Ernestine came back 
home, her mother talked to her about honesty 
and truthfulness, and how God expected little girls 
to be honest. Then she turned to the Bible and 
taught Ernestine this verse, " No good thing will 
God withhold from them that walk uprightly." 
The next time that child was tempted to steal, she 
rushed with all speed to her Bible for an arrow. 
This verse was the arrow, and she shot it at the 
enemy of her soul. Ernestine learned that if she 
lived in hope and honesty, every good thing would 
come to her. 

There is another arrow children ought to shoot 
at the enemy every day. When some one calls us 
names, or tricks us, we want to do the same thing 
to him, we return evil for evil. In so doing we 
destroy the best that is in us. When people 
treated Jesus in that way, He dealt very patiently 
with them. He says, " I say unto you, love your 
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to 
them that hate you, and pray for them which 
despitefully use you, and persecute you." That 
was the arrow Jesus shot at His enemies, and that 



THE AEEOW LEAF OE AEEOW-HEAD 87 

is the arrow we are to shoot also, when folks treat 
us unkindly. 

In the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus 
teaches children how to deal with their enemies. 
People are unkind because they listen to the enemy 
of their souls. Satan gets a grip on them. We 
must learn therefore to hate the sin, but not the 
person who commits it. 

Let's shoot love arrows all day long ; shoot them 
at our friends; shoot them at our enemies; shoot 
them at everybody. 

How different these arrows that God shoots 
down to children, for they do not kill, but instead, 
make alive. And what a beautiful arrow God shot 
down when He made the arrow-head plant, and 
how He uses it to talk with us, reminding us of 
the arrows that discomfit and perplex the enemy. 

Children, draw your bow, keep the Bible Quiver 
within reach, and shoot your arrows far and near. 
God will fly with every arrow you send. He will 
cause every arrow to perplex completely all who 
try to annoy or tempt you, and He will bring you 
off more than conquerors. 




MiQ/iigk jjush jDlackbQrry 

Jiumble and modest, il w/ns favor with e/eryone 



XIV 

THE HIGH BUSH BLACKBERRY 
Living for Others 

BLACKBERRY pudding, and then some jam 
on bread: Ooh! Shall we ever forget it? 
And didn't we dance when mother told lis 
she had blackberry pie for supper ? 

" Kin I have a piece now, Ma? " That's what 
we said. 

And even though we had been eating them in 
the fields, or among the hedges, during the day, we 
wanted more when we came home at evening time. 
The country children know they can find the trail- 
ing, prickly, blackberry shrub in waste places, and 
among the highway hedges, but sometimes the 
moor and other wild fowl beat the boys to the 
bushes, for they are very fond of the wild black- 
berry too. 

In some places the long rods and twigs of the 
blackberry shrub are used for holding the straw 
in place on the thatched roofs of houses. 

When beginning to grow, the stems sprout out, 
and rise directly from the root, but they do not 
bear fruit until the second season. As soon as the 
fruit bursts out on the twig, the stems become 

89 



90 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL TJS 

weak and die. Their strength has been poured 
into the berry. 

The shrub is tall and branching, with slim brown 
stems, from three to ten feet in length, and cov- 
ered with sturdy prickles that bend slightly back- 
ward. The leaves are composed of from three to 
five smaller leaflets, each egg-shaped, pointed and 
toothed, with a ribbed and fuzzy surface. The 
flowers have five narrow, white petals, with five 
narrow green under-petals, that show up between 
each one of the flower petals. It is from this 
plant that the berries for market are developed. 
If the wild blackberry become frost-bitten, it de- 
velops deformities. The plant is found almost 
everywhere. 

Children, how often mother has tucked us in 
bed and then read a good story to us. Well, God 
has planted story books all over the world. I see 
some of them in the wild flowers. 

The blackberry bush has a wonderful story in 
it — the story of noble service, quietly rendered for 
others. 

Remember, it is found in waste places and high- 
ways. So sometimes the lives of children and 
young people are found. Let me tell you about Dr. 
Paley, who was one of the world's great preachers 
and thinkers. When he was a student at college, 
he idled away his time. One night after squander- 
ing his time in sin, he slipped into his room, think- 
ing he had not been heard by any one. The next 



THE HIGH BUSH BLACKBEBBY 91 

morning, however, a little blackberry bush, in the 
form of a friend, sprang up in this place where 
young Paley was wasting his life, and said: 

" Paley, I have not been able to sleep, thinking 
about you. I have been thinking what a fool you 
are. I have come to warn you of your folly." 

That friend of Paley's was bearing fruit in a 
place that was full of wasted moments, and it was 
on the highway of Paley's life — a highway where 
a soul had been loafing. This sharp warning 
pricked Paley's conscience, just as the prickles of 
the blackberry shrub would have pricked his flesh. 
He came to himself, and said: 

" I will be good ; I will make something out of 
my life." 

So he gave his life to God, and studied very 
faithfully. In a few years he became Dr. Paley, 
the powerful philosopher and preacher of the 
Truth. 

If we would get the most out of life, we must 
be quick to check those who are wasting their 
time. Prick them with words of truth, then our 
lives will be like a little blackberry shrub, bearing 
fruit in waste places and on the highways. 

And did we not learn that as soon as the black- 
berry shrub gives out its fruit, its stems wither and 
die? How much like some good people this is. 

A man by the name of Henry Martyn gainc 
great fame as a missionary to the Indians. When 
a boy, he was nervous, excitable and irritable. 



92 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL US 

His schoolmates teased him a great deal, but there 
was one good Christian lad in Marty n's class, and 
he soon put a stop to the cowardly tricks of the 
tormentors. He protected weak little Henry all 
through the rest of his school and college life. 

In later life Martyn said that the influence of 
that strong Christian boy led him to become a 
missionary to the Indians. Just as Martyn came 
to success and fame, this good friend died, and 
passed away unknown. But he did not die until 
he had landed Henry Martyn safely on the mis- 
sionary field. Henry Martyn was like the fruit, 
while this unknown Christian friend was like the 
stems that withered and died as soon as the fruit 
was given to the world. 

What a beautiful story of service this is. The 
stem dies, but not until it sends out a delicious 
fruit, that delights children, and nourishes weary 
travellers. What sacrifice! 

The next page of this story book which God 
has written in the blackberry shrub tells us how 
to be good and useful. Lots of folks can tell us 
we ought to be good, but they cannot tell us how. 
Not so with the blackberry shrub — it halts us with 
its prickles, but it also tells us how to be good. 

The stems rise directly from the root. 

" There, that's the secret." 

The Bible says, we must be " rooted and 
grounded in love." That means that our lives 
must grow like a branch out of the life of Jesus. 



THE HIGH BUSH BLACKBEREY 93 

We must rise directly from the root,— gather 
strength from the Master. That is the way to be 
good. 

Whenever Jesus did a good deed, He withered 
and died. He did not really shrink up and die, but 
He hid himself. He did not shout aloud all the 
good He was doing, but He went about quietly, 
doing good. He helped and healed the sick, then 
asked them not to speak of it. He saved every 
one of us, by offering Himself in our stead, so 
that " by His stripes we are healed." He gave 
us everlasting life. As soon as He did this, He 
withered away and died. 

Millions of people would bring Him gifts of 
silver, gold and jewels, if they could. But He 
does not ask these things from us. He asks only 
that we try to be like Him. Men everywhere know 
their lives would be worthless, but for the quiet 
help Jesus gives them. He gave the fruit, life, to 
mankind, then He withdrew, happy to see men 
enjoy that life and immortality. 

Oh, to be a boy or girl like that, always doing 
good and never looking for a reward. Some 
children won't get mother a stick of wood, or dry 
a dish, unless they get a penny for their services. 

The wild blackberry shrub lets us into a little 
secret in the life of Jesus — that we are happiest 
only when living for others. 




TheTikQweed or Jnkberry 

Sweet when yaunq, but poisonous when older* 



XV 

THE POKEWEED 

False Faces 

RAG-A-MUFFIN " day is Thanksgiving 
Day, isn't it? That is the day when 
so many of the children in various parts 
of our country cover their faces with funny look- 
ing false-faces, and dress in old ragged clothes. 
Then they go about the neighbourhood, blowing tin 
horns, and begging for pennies or fruit, and fool- 
ing everybody. 

Sometimes children and folks make their own 
faces false by looking at us with a smile, and 
then acting in a treacherous manner when we are 
not present. We call this coming to us with a 
false front. 

Even plants will draw us close to their flowers, 
leaves, and roots, with their sweetness, but when 
we go to them for help in time of hunger, they will 
feed us for a while, then poison us. Pokeweed, 
or the inkberry plant, welcomes us when it is ten- 
der and young, for then it is good to eat, but if we 
continue to depend upon it until it becomes tough 
and old, it will then poison us. 

95 



96 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL US 

We have all heard how the spider said to the 
fly, " Step into my parlour." 

But when the fly did, it was soon entangled with 
fine threads and perished. So the pokeweed, like 
the spider, wears a false face. 

In the spring of the year the young and tender 
shoots of this plant have a sweet flavour like that 
of asparagus. They can be eaten if not cut too 
close to the root, and if thoroughly boiled. But we 
must be on our guard, because this youthful sweet- 
ness is a false face. Down deep in its root it is 
poisonous. Its fruit is also full of poison, as are 
its seeds. Many a child has died from eating the 
root of pokeweed, having first been drawn to it by 
its delicate flavour. Here is a plant that is a food 
with some good qualities when it is young, but that 
leads us to death if we continue in its company. 

It is a pretty plant, with its reddish purple stems, 
its rich green foliage, and its clusters of white 
flowers. And, added to this and making it still 
more beautiful, are its dark purple berries, that 
hang from the stems like bunches of tiny grapes. 
The stout, smooth stems rise out of a root that 
lives all through the year. The plant grows from 
three to nine feet in height, and the flower clusters, 
which appear from July to September, grow as 
long as four inches. 

In about two months the berries mature and 
take on their rich, dark purple colour. They are 
smooth, shiny, globe shaped, and flattened at both 



THE POKEWEED 97 

ends, and contain black seeds embedded in a rich 
crimson juice. From this juice the western In- 
dians made a red stain with which they painted 
their horses, and many articles of use or adorn- 
ment. These berries when mature or ripe are used 
in medicine. 

To see this plant, is to want it. The berries 
hang so gracefully and invitingly, that children, 
and even older folks, are tempted to eat them. 
But we must not forget that these berries are the 
fruit of a plant which furnishes good food only 
when young and tender; now, however, in its 
ripened state, it is full of deadly poison. 

So there are many pleasures which seem inno- 
cent and harmless at first, but which after a while 
poison and ruin us. When they first appear, they 
wear false faces. 

Satan wears all sorts of false faces, and at times 
would fool the very smartest of men. Jesus said 
if we would only walk with Him, He would show 
us the poison that is hid in some apparently harm- 
less pastimes. Satan hides in some of these pleas- 
ures, and Jesus will always give us warning, and 
thus prevent the evil one from tripping us by sur- 
prise. 

Jesus did speak of those people who wore false 
faces. He said they looked as harmless as sheep, 
but down in their hearts they were like wild wolves 
that tear men to pieces. There were others, He 
said, who looked like whited sepulchres, beautiful 



98 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEKS TELL US 

on the outside ; but inside they were full of rotten- 
ness — dead men's bones. 

Some years ago I knew a boy who thought it 
was harmless to idle away his time with a group of 
disorderly boys. His mother warned him of the 
dangers that loafing would lead to. But Jack said, 
" Mother, we do not bother any one. What harm 
can there be in that ? " It all looked harmless to 
Jack. 

Soon he played " hookie " from Sunday School 
to be with those boys. Then he tried cigarette 
smoking, and that led him to try smoking that 
awful stuff that only the lowest smoke, opium. 
He became very careless in his habits, and lost his 
position. Then he started to steal, first from his 
mother, and later from others by breaking into a 
store at night. He was caught, arrested, and car- 
ried off to prison. Ever since that time his life 
has been a most horrible one. 

Recently I received a letter from his broken- 
hearted mother, asking me if I knew of Jack's 
whereabouts. She has not seen him for years. 
But every night she prepares his bed and lights the 
room. The light is kept burning all through the 
night. She is hoping and praying that some day 
he will return, and when he does, no matter what 
hour of the day or night it may be, she wants his 
room all ready for him. Jack's room has a win- 
dow on the street side of the house, and should he 
pass by that way, he will see this light of wel- 



THE POKEWEED 99 

come which his devoted mother keeps burning for 
him. 

Ah, it seemed like a sweet, innocent pastime to 
lounge around with a few other boys, but how 
poor Jack was poisoned by it later. His heart and 
mind have been so poisoned that every good 
thought and trait in him has perished. 

Jesus warns us not to be deceived with things 
just because they are sweet and beautiful at first. 
We must go back to the roots, to the secret work- 
ings, and study things out through every branch, 
to see what sort of fruit is produced. By this 
fruit we shall know whether or not it will be safe 
for us to continue our acquaintanceship. 

Watch for the false faces. Satan dresses 
poisonous habits up in beautiful garments. This is 
the way he catches God's children. He makes 
things taste sweet, and look pretty at first, but 
they lead to death. 

The beautiful poke weed plant, with its young 
and tender sprouts, supplies real food to man, but 
down in its root it has a poison stored, which a 
little later it will bring out in its fruit; and death 
lurks in that pretty fruit. 

Let us learn from pokeweed to watch for the 
false faces that cover up the poison in some pleas- 
ures, and in some people as well. 




JSrQad, Tbdd'mys t and Cake can he made with cat-tails 



XVI 

THE CAT-TAILS 
A White Heart in a Black World 

WILLIE gave his father this conundrum: 
" Daddy," said he, " what do they call 
little cats down in Mexico ? " 

" I don't know, I am sure," replied Daddy. 

" Why," shouted Willie with a laugh of victory, 
" they call them kittens, of course." 

Then he rushed into the cellar and caught two 
of the baby kittens by their tails, and started up- 
stairs with them. 

When Daddy heard them squealing he said: 

" Willie, don't hurt those kittens." 

" I won't, Daddy," answered Willie, " I'm car- 
rying them by the stems." 

There is a plant that grows wild in the swamps 
and marshes and that looks so much like a cat's 
tail that some one has so named it. It is the 
common swamp cat-tail, and children enjoy gather- 
ing it. But little do they realize how much food 
those roots contain. 

The Indians dug them up and dried them, then 
ground them into a powder, and with this powder 

10* 



102 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL US 

made their puddings and bread. Some folks are 
always eager for new things to eat ; here is one to 
give them, children, — cat-tail pudding. They may 
laugh, but hold your ground, for you can prove 
you are right. 

The Indians taught the white man how to eat 
potatoes and corn, but the cat-tail seems to have 
been forgotten. Recently some flour made from 
cat-tail roots was tested by chemists of the Food 
Administration Office at Washington, D. C, and 
they said that it had nearly as much food value as 
rice, and that it was as good as wheat flour. 

On one acre of ground we can raise two tons of 
flour from the cat-tail. In the United States there 
are about one hundred and forty thousand square 
miles of swamp land, and to us it may seem waste, 
but God has filled it with this fine food for man. 
That is the way God gives; He just covers the 
earth with His blessings. 

Plants must eat and drink, or else they will die. 
When little children eat, they carry the food to 
their mouths with their hands. So this cat-tail 
plant has hands ; they go out from the root in the 
form of long brown hairs, and collect the food 
from the soil, draw it into the root, then send it 
up through the plant. 

The slimy, stagnant, green swamp water is not 
fit to drink, but is loaded with poisons that would 
kill both child and plant. The hands of the cat- 
tail root pick up much of this poison, and if it went 



THE CAT-TAILS 103 

directly into the plant, it would kill it. All the 
food that these long, brown, hand-like hairs pick 
up is first carried into an outside casing, or cover- 
ing of the root. This casing is a sort of mouth 
and digestive organ combined, receiving and dis- 
tributing the food and waste particles as well. 

The food that is picked from the foul, swamp 
soil, now passes through the casing and is strained. 
While the straining is going on, every impurity is 
held in the casing, but the pure and nourishing 
particles of food enter the core of the root and 
feed the plant. By the time this food matter from 
the swamp reaches the core or heart of the root, it 
is pure and white. 

Although the root of the cat-tail plant is com- 
pletely surrounded by poisons, the heart of that 
root is a pure food, upon which the plant thrives, 
and upon which man also would grow healthy and 
strong. 

Isn't that like conditions in this world where 
little children must grow every day? There is so 
much evil we wonder how it is possible for children 
to keep pure and good, but in the cat-tail plant we 
get an idea how it is done. 

God has built a sort of casing around our minds 
and hearts, to act just as the casing around the 
heart of the cat-tail root does. Public schools and 
colleges that develop our minds, and Sunday 
Schools and Churches that develop our souls, make 
up that casing. These institutions are refining, and 



104 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEKS TELL US 

act as strainers that sift out poisonous thoughts 
and plans, so that they will not reach our hearts. 

Our lives are planted in the midst of much 
wickedness, but the Church and school will train 
our consciences, and we will be quick to separate 
the good from the bad. Under the influence of 
good and noble thoughts, we will throw out the 
poisonous elements. If all our plans and habits, 
then, are sifted and strained by Christian char- 
acter, they will be as a pure and wholesome food 
for daily living. 

So Christ safeguards children, and keeps them 
pure in a world of temptation and sin, just as God 
keeps the heart of the cat-tail root pure in the 
swampy soil. 

In cities and towns there are districts known as 
factory districts and tenement districts. These we 
usually call poor neighbourhoods. Some of the 
streets are not always clean, and some of the chil- 
dren who play in them are rough. But men must 
work in the factories, or near the tenement dis- 
trict, and that makes it necessary for many chil- 
dren to live in these neighbourhoods, where there 
are hundreds of influences that are like poisonous 
impurities. But if the children keep faithful to 
Church and school, they will have every help to 
grow up pure in heart, even in a poor neighbour- 
hood. The crowded tenement, where some of the 
people are quarrelling much of the time, and where 
fighting and foul language are often seen and 



THE CATTAILS 105 

heard, can never harm the child who keeps true to 
God. Living every day by the standards of the 
Church and Bible will give any child a white 
heart in a black world. 

Look at that little town of Nazareth in the 
Holy Land. It was a very wicked place, yet the 
Child Jesus grew up there. And Jesus was the 
purest and sweetest Child that ever lived. He 
was a Child that grew up with a white heart in a 
black world. Now the child with the pure heart 
will be like the cat-tail root; having the power to 
help others also to be strong and pure. Such a 
child is a blessing, for he makes many others 
healthy and happy. 

It is not difficult to see how the cat-tail teaches 
the secret of growing pure in heart, even though 
completely surrounded with evil. The Bible says, 
" The devil goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking 
whom he may devour." All the howling and 
roaring Satan can do will not in the least disturb 
the child who keeps steady in Church and school. 
No matter what the neighbourhood, our Church 
and our school are the great strainers that will help 
us sift out the evil. 

Even in this stagnant, swampy, poisonous world, 
the child life can develop unstained, and his heart 
can grow up white and pure. And this is what 
the cat-tail teaches us. 




J/lQ * 

JnQadowswQQt 

Jt is 

more than a 

{lower, lovely to look at; W^^^^^/f^ a del/'c/ous food y 

and life svinach.oood for f folks who have rheumatism 



XVII 

THE MEADOWSWEET 

Sweetened Lives 

GOOD deeds, like a precious ointment, fill 
the house with a sweet odour. Children, 
then, whose days are full of kind acts and 
happy ways, are like a precious ointment about 
any home — they brighten and sweeten the atmos- 
phere. 

We cannot look at the meadowsweet plant with- 
out thinking how lovely it would be in this world 
if every one were free from bitterness. 

Down along the edges of the woods and 
swamps, and at the roadsides, grows this common, 
but beautiful, downy-like meadowsweet shrub. 
Its flowers are in clusters of tiny white blossoms 
of five petals each, with numerous pink threads 
coming up out of the centers, that give them a 
feathery appearance and rosy tint. The clusters 
are pyramid shaped, and bloom handsomely during 
July and August. It can be found anywhere from 
New York to Missouri, and southward. 

Meadowsweet is not merely a flower beautiful 
to look at, but is a valuable and delicious food, and 

107 



108 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

a tonic for people subject to rheumatism. Like 
spinach and cabbage, it is a food that drives out 
the impurities of the blood. In the spring of the 
year it is cooked in thick soups. 

The people of Iceland believed that if this plant 
were thrown into the water, on St. John's Day, it 
would help them to discover a thief. If the cul- 
prit were a man, the plant would sink, if a woman, 
it would float. But the meadowsweet does not 
give that idea to me at all. No matter where I 
look at it, by the roadside or at the edge of the 
swamp, anywhere, everywhere, I can only see in 
the clusters countless happy little boys and girls. 
Each little floret is like the face of a well-behaved, 
rosy-cheeked child. 

Queen Elizabeth of England asked that 
meadowsweet be kept spread about her rooms, be- 
cause the fragrance scented up the whole palace. 
At summer banquets the halls and houses used to 
be decorated with it, for the sweet odour made the 
heart merry and did not cause headaches. 

Kind and thoughtful children, like the meadow- 
sweet, are a beautiful decoration in any home. The 
paintings on the walls may be worth thousands of 
dollars, and visitors may gape with wonder at the 
soft moonlight scenes and flashing sunsets, but 
their eyes soon tire of these, and they desire other 
things. Valuable and beautiful as are the works 
of famous artists, they are not to be compared with 
the priceless value and beauty of one sweet little 



THE MEADOWSWETB 109 

child in a house. People never get tired of such 
a child. 

The rarest tapestries and the richest embroid- 
eries will in time weary people, but a dutiful and 
loving child — never! There is no furniture, how- 
ever expensive, that can make any room as at- 
tractive as a good child. Furniture goes out of 
style, but a darling child never does. Like the 
meadowsweet, a good child is the desire of kings 
and queens all over the world, because their sweet 
and thoughtful little manners make the heart 
merry, and do not cause headaches. 

The Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians and also 
the Jews, poured sweet oils and ointments on their 
heads, and on their clothes, at certain important 
festivals and gatherings. Many people do the 
same thing nowadays. They sprinkle cologne on 
their handkerchiefs and clothes, and some still 
moisten their heads with it, to give them a sweet 
smell. It is said that in parts of China the natives 
pour perfumed water over their bodies, instead of 
taking a bath. It would seem that in some quar- 
ters there are those in America who do that, even 
now. There are naughty children who would 
prefer that, for I have seen some who had to be 
dragged to their bath, as a balky mule has to be 
dragged to his duty. 

Among the Egyptians and other Easterners, 
every guest, upon entering the house, was anointed, 
that is, some fragrant oil was poured on him. 



110 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

This was an act of courtesy and admiration. So 
when Jesus came into the house of His friends at 
Bethany, Mary, who loved Him very much, 
brought a pound of ointment made of spikenard, 
the most expensive kind, and poured it over His 
feet. Then to show her modesty and lowliness of 
mind, she wiped His feet with her hair. " The 
odour of that ointment filled the house." 

Wherever there are good and obedient children, 
there is a sweet fragrance through the house, 
sweeter even than the meadowsweet. In many a 
child's album we have written: 

" Roses are red, violets are blue, 
Sugar is sweet, and so are you." 

But a sweet child is sweeter than the sweetest 
sugar. 

A little chap about eight years of age saw his 
grandmother when she returned from a shopping 
trip, one day, all worn out. He hurried to untie 
her shoes and bring her slippers. Then in a very 
thoughtful way, he looked up into her face and 
said, "Grandma, I knew you would be tired; 
Mother said you would get weary tramping 
through those stores." The dear old lady was 
very much worn out, but the conduct of this kind 
little grandson cheered her. As soon as she had 
her slippers on, she went up-stairs to a room in 
which the boy's mother lay, very ill. She told the 



THE MEADOWSWEET 111 

sick mother how thoughtfully the boy had acted, 
and though that mother was very sick, she smiled. 
In the evening when Daddy came home, weary and 
exhausted from his work, the sick mother told 
him of little Harold's kindness to Grandma, and 
he smiled. That kind deed just filled the house 
with gladness. It was like the ointment that filled 
the house with a sweet fragrance, or like the mead- 
owsweet that gave the rooms a bracing odour. 

How lovely to go about everywhere, filling the 
air with the sweetness of kind acts, rather than 
with the blue bitterness of oaths and ill-tempered 
words. 

Disobedient children give parents and teachers 
many a headache, but how much better to be like 
that little chap, Harold, who took away a head- 
ache by the charm of his kind thoughtfulness. 

If God can put charm into a delicate little plant 
like meadowsweet, a plant that grows by swamps 
and roadsides, certainly He can put charms into 
the hearts of little children whom He loves with an 
everlasting love. 

To make sad faces break into smiles, and to 
sweeten bitter lives, that is the part of every boy 
and girl in this world. 




% ^Burdock \%- \ ™* 

£/ood -purifier -it can ie eaten like asparagus 



XVIII 

BURDOCK 
The Child Who Got There 

STICK-BUTTONS," and "Beggar-but- 
tons," children call them, but their real 
name is burdock. Little folks build 
houses, and men, and dolls, and animals with them, 
and when no one is looking, they fling them at 
one another's clothing. 

Burdock is a common roadside weed, and got its 
name from its burr-like fruit, consisting of hooked 
tips. It will grow in almost any sort of soil. We 
see it in the city lots, growing up among old tin 
cans and heaps of junk. In dry and sandy soil 
the roots will go down to a depth of two or three 
feet, making it necessary to dig them out. When 
it is full grown, the plant is from three to seven 
feet in height, the lower leaves often measuring 
eighteen inches from the stem to the tip. The 
flowers appear from July until frost, but children 
cannot find them on the plant until it starts its 
second year's growth. They grow in small clus- 
ters, and some are red, some purple, and some 
white, just covered all over with hooked tips, form- 
ing a spiny burr, that catches to the clothing of 
people, and to the wool and hair of animals. One 

113 



114 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

plant will give as many as four hundred thousand 
seeds. 

Some say it is a pest, but that is what some 
thoughtless and selfish people say about a little 
child. When they learn of the burdock's real 
value, they see it is not in the least a pest. God 
made it stick to people's clothes and animals' wool 
so that it would not die, but would in this funny 
way scatter its seeds and go on spreading and grow- 
ing. When people or animals rub up against the 
burdock, how those stickers do stick. They stick 
until they are either brushed, picked, or shaken off. 
And right where they fall, they spring up into a 
new plant. The burdock burr has stuck so success- 
fully that it has journeyed half-way around the 
world, and has never paid a cent of car-fare. 

The burdock not only furnishes fun for the 
children, but it is a blessing of food, and has 
healing powers beside. Why, when the outer rind 
of the stem is stripped off, it can be eaten like 
asparagus. In the root there is a soapy substance 
that makes it valuable for blood and skin diseases. 
If the roots are to be used for this purpose, they 
must not be dug up until the end of the first year's 
growth. How can any one call this excellent blood 
purifier a pesky weed? Then, too, it has a story 
to tell that is refreshing to every child who will 
listen. 

When Mr. Carey, the great missionary to India, 
was a boy, he tried to climb a tree. After getting 



BUEDOCK 115 

up quite high, his foot slipped, and he fell all the 
way to the ground, and broke his leg. While he 
was in bed, with his leg bandaged, he kept saying, 
" Wait till I get out again, I'll climb that tree, just 
wait till I get out." And, sure enough, when he 
got out, the first thing he did was to climb that 
same tree. He was hindered for a time with a 
broken leg, but that did not stop him long. He 
started at it again as soon as he could. He stuck 
like a burdock burr. He did what the burdock 
burr does when it is shaken off ; he started to grow 
more effectively than ever, at the very spot where 
he was shaken off. 

St. Paul was a wonderful Christian preacher 
who lived in the days of Jesus. He was glad he 
had become a Christian, and he declared many 
times that nothing would ever separate him from 
Christ. Having started the Christian life, he said 
he would stick until he reached heaven. He said, 
" This one thing I do." There are boys and girls 
who at one time determined to be Christians, but 
who did not stick. They gave up too easily. They 
were too quickly discouraged. Many other chil- 
dren have stuck, and are sticking now, and these 
are growing up to be strong characters. Children 
ought to stick to the right as a burdock burr sticks 
to people's clothing and animals' wool. Say as 
Paul said, " This one thing I do." 

It is the fellow who sticks that accomplishes 
something. The farmer, the mechanic, the mer- 



116 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL TJS 

chant, and the labourer who sticks to his work pro- 
duces results. That boy Carey, who stuck to his 
purpose, climbed the tree. In just the same way 
he stuck to every good purpose in his life. 
When he first went to India as a missionary, the 
natives drove him away and shook him off, but he 
stuck to them as the burdock burr sticks, and in a 
few years he set up a college at Serampore. Be- 
fore he got through he built sixteen flourishing 
missionary stations, and translated the Bible into 
sixteen different languages. He said, " I'll be a 
missionary," and because he stuck, he accomplished 
a great deal for God, and for the poor heathen as 
well. 

St. Paul did not let anything discourage him 
either. He made several missionary tours, and 
established Churches all over the old world. He 
wrote remarkable letters to the people of those 
Churches, and his letters are now a part of our 
Bible. By his teaching he has brought millions of 
souls into a better understanding of Christianity. 
He suffered many hardships and sorrows, yet he 
stuck. He had one awful sorrow, which he called 
a thorn in his flesh — some say it was blindness — 
but he stuck. He was thrown into prison, bound 
in chains, threatened with death, and shipwrecked 
at sea, yet he stuck. He said, " This one thing I 
do," and he did it. He stuck like the burdock 
burr, for wherever he was shaken off, there he 
sprang up into a thousand new influences. 



BUEDOCK 117 

But, children, look at Jesus, the Son of God. 
One of His disciples, writing about Him, says, 
" He set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem." 
Now Jesus knew that at Jerusalem His most 
deadly enemies were waiting for Him. He knew 
they had planned to seize Him, mock Him, insult 
Him, and then crucify Him; nevertheless He 
would not change His course. He stuck to the 
one purpose of His life — the work of saving man- 
kind. 

The mob of brutish murderers at Jerusalem 
thought they had shaken Jesus off, that is, they 
thought they had got rid of Him when they cruci- 
fied Him, but He grew bigger than ever right on 
tlie very spot where they thought they had put an 
end to Him. A new world sprang up at the spot 
where Jesus shed His innocent blood. Jesus pro- 
duced a Christian world, an everlasting kingdom, 
because He stuck to the one purpose of His life, to 
serve God and man. How like the burdock burr, 
that takes root where it is shaken off, and immedi- 
ately springs up into a new and sometimes even 
more beautiful plant. 

Beautiful burdock, with its burr so persevering, 
its food so strengthening to the body, and its in- 
struction so encouraging to the timid or wavering 
child. Is it not harsh to say of such a plant — it 
is a pest? 







Jhe JAistle 

r f ' 

Jt can be eaten raw foiled } or baked ] k a pie 



XIX 

THE THISTLE 
A Friend with Thorns On 

CHILDREN who roam barefooted through 
the fields often get pricked with the thistle 
plant. But the wounds of the thistle are 
like the corrections or wounds of a faithful friend. 
When friends hurt us, it is only to point out some 
better way to our own happiness. 

There are many different kinds of thistles, but 
they all look alike. They are very attractive in the 
uncultivated fields, along the roadsides, and in 
waste open spots where grass is scarce, and where 
hungry cows and horses wander. They blossom 
from July until September, and have very juicy 
stalks and " tasty " leaves. The flower and leaf 
are protected by hundreds of prickles, that seem 
like little soldiers with sharp bayonets set, ready 
for action. These sharp points dishearten all 
animals except the donkey, and the man. Here is 
one instance where we may say that the donkey 
and the man are classified in the same group, even 
though the man may not like it very much. 

In parts of England and Scotland the people boil 
the tender stalks of the marsh thistle, or sometimes 

119 



120 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEKS TELL US 

they bake them in a pie, and children often peel 
them and eat them raw. Think of thistle pie. 
That is something new to many folks. Various 
other kinds of thistles are gathered when the 
stalks are young, and are prepared for salads or 
boiled as greens; this is a favourite dish with the 
Siberians and Russians. 

Even to-day there are many people in some parts 
of Italy who throw thistles on their fires in times 
of thunder-storms, because they believe the thistle 
will protect them from the flashes of lightning. 

In spite of its short sharp prickles, there are 
millions who love the thistle. More than a thou- 
sand years ago, the Danes sailed up the rivers of 
England and Scotland in flat-bottom boats, 
sneaked ashore, and after stealing crops and cattle 
got away again before the surprised people knew 
what had happened. These Danes had a rule that 
they would never attack any one who was sleeping, 
but they once decided to break this rule and make 
a night raid. They landed all right, and expected 
to surprise the sleeping towns-people; but as they 
were creeping through the fields very silently, one 
of the Danes stepped with his naked foot right 
down on a thistle. He was so startled, he let out 
a yell that awakened the people. They rushed to 
arms, and drove the sea-robbers away. 

The thistle was then adopted as the national 
flower of Scotland, and has ever since been 
honoured. This is how a thistle saved a whole 



THE THISTLE 121 

town. The Scotchman does not mind the prickles, 
for he always remembers that even if the thistle 
does wound, that same kind of a wound at another 
time saved his people from dangerous enemies. 

Children, the thistle is like a real friend. First, 
the roots go deep — deeper than the roots of some 
trees, and deeper than a plow will cut. That is 
just like a friend's love. It is so true and so deep, 
that even though our sharp words and deeds cut 
like a plow, they do not cut deep enough to cut 
away that true love which our friends have for us. 
That is the way mother and father love us, and 
often our teachers too. The Master always loves 
us with a love that goes deep. The Bible says that 
" neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princi- 
palities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things 
to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love 
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Next, the thistle tells where fertile soil can be 
found. A certain blind man went out to purchase 
a piece of land. He said, " Take me to a thistle." 
He knew that wherever a thistle grows, there the 
soil is rich and fertile. The thistle may wound, 
but see how it guides the blind man, and shows 
him good soil. That blind man may say, " Ouch," 
when pricked with the thistle, but he also quickly 
says, " Give me this piece of ground." So the 
Master's words of correction may sting us, yet He 
is the Friend who leads us into surroundings that 



122 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEKS TELL US 

make our lives fruitful. He places us where our 
efforts accomplish the most good. 

Then, if you are well acquainted with the thistle, 
it will be your friend in time of storm. If we 
watch a bee at a thistle, we will learn whether or 
not the storm will be serious. If the bee stay on 
the thistle, the storm will not last long, but if the 
bee go home, the storm will last. Bees are guided 
by an instinct in time of storm, and they never 
make a mistake. Here is a bee that stings and a 
thistle that wounds, yet both give us correct infor- 
mation in time of bad or threatening weather. So 
when temptations or dangers threaten little chil- 
dren, it is always best to go to friends who tell us 
the truth, even if what they tell us does hurt our 
feelings. 

There is one more trait about this prickly thistle 
that fills the mind with thoughts of Jesus. Its 
seeds yield a wonderful oil, which is clear, smooth 
and soothing. It is very good for cooking pur- 
poses, and also for giving light. The thistle may 
prick us, but when we come closer to it, and crush 
it, in return for the sting, it gives a rich, sweet oil. 
It does not throw out poison like a snake, but in- 
stead gives out this valuable oil, that brings light 
and healing to the very person who has crushed 
the plant. 

This is the way Jesus has always acted toward 
us. He warns all persons against sin and tries to 
lead them to happy living, but many people be- 



THE THISTLE 123 

come pierced by His words. About two thousand 
years ago when He was on earth, some of the 
people resented His warnings, and they bruised 
and beat Him, and at last crushed out His life on 
the cross. He did not turn in anger against them, 
nor did He call His angels down from heaven to 
destroy His enemies. When they bruised Him, 
blood flowed from His side, and that blood has 
become like a healing oil, and a light-giving oil, 
to all the nations of the earth. Though crushed, 
He yielded a balm. 

Children everywhere play with the thistle flower- 
heads that have turned to blow-balls. How we 
hold them in our hand, and give one good hard 
blow, and as we puff away the down we sing: 

" Marian, Marian, what's the time of day ? 
One o'clock, two o'clock, it's time we were away." 

It is time we were away; away to work and 
play, remembering ever that our truest friends are 
like the thistle ; they may wound us, yet they love 
us with a love deep and true, with a love that does 
everything it can to make us happy. 




Wild strawberry 

,*$r Valuable as a food for blood, bones, 
teeth, hair, jinyer-naik,Qnd skin 



XX 

THE WILD STRAWBERRY 
Words with a Sweet Taste 

EVERY child likes strawberry short-cake, 
and some will eat it until the strawberries 
and cream get all the way around as far 
as their ears, with a dab of the cream stuck to the 
end of their nose. 

The wild strawberry plant has a root stalk that 
trails along the ground, from which rise fuzzy 
stems, and on these stems the leaves and flowers 
grow. Several wheel-shaped flowers, with five 
rounded white petals, and narrow, greenish under 
petals, grow on each stem. 

After flowering time, the green center of the 
flower swells, grows pulpy, and is painted a beauti- 
ful red by the rays of the sun. All over the sur- 
face of the berry, little dents hold the seeds. So 
the berry is the expanded or swelled flower center. 
The average height of the plant is about five 
inches. It probably received its name from the 
custom of laying straw between the rows of the 
plants when cultivating them. 

God seems to have scattered this delicious little 
berry broadcast in fields, pastures, and hedges. 

Years ago, people claimed that the strawberry 
125 



126 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

made the heart merry. The berries were crushed, 
and cooling drinks were made of the juices. Say, 
"Strawberry Soda," to children now, and they 
will rub their chests and sing out, " Ooh ! " So 
the strawberry does make the heart merry. 

Kings of England paid a high price to get the 
strawberry roots for their gardens. For many 
years the Spanish people have regarded straw- 
berries, with milk or cream, and sugar added, as a 
rare dish. But we use the berry also for soda 
drinks, ice-cream, sherbet, jam, and short-cake. 

The strawberry is a real food, and the entire 
plant is of great value as a tonic. A little of the 
root will stop a running nose. The leaves are used 
for their flavour, and for decorating salads. 

As a food it is one of the richest in organic salts, 
sodium, calcium, iron, and silicon. Now let me 
explain what all these things mean to the body. 

If we did not have sufficient sodium in our 
blood, certain poisonous waste acids would accu- 
mulate, and soon we should be sick with rheuma- 
tism, consumption, anaemia, and other diseases. 

If we did not have sufficient calcium in our 
bodies, our bones and teeth would soon become 
chalky and crumble away. 

If we did not have enough iron in our blood, we 
should suffer indigestion, for iron is the substance 
in the blood that carries oxygen through the body, 
and makes a fire that burns up and digests all the 
waste particles of food. 



THE WILD STRAWBERRY 127 

If we did not have enough silicon in our bodies, 
our hair would lose its life, our finger nails would 
become brittle, and our skin would easily bruise. 

And, just think of it, God bundles up a lot of 
each of these substances in every little strawberry. 

Isn't this a wonderful food ? Some say it should 
never be cooked or preserved, and when taken 
fully ripe and fresh from the vine, it is the best 
blood toning fruit known; good for the sick, and 
also for those who are on the way to recovery. 

In the Book of Psalms the sufferings and tempta- 
tions of David are told. David was always very 
sorry for his mistakes, so much so that he said he 
often cried so hard his pillow was soaked with his 
tears. 

One day while talking with God he said, " Oh 
God, wicked people and wicked demons are all 
about, just waiting to destroy me, but I keep Thy 
words in my mind." Then pausing a moment he 
said, " How sweet are Thy Words unto my taste." 

Children in this day are surrounded with many 
evils that seek to destroy their souls. But, like 
the wild strawberry, each word of God's is filled 
with a power that makes boys and girls strong for 
the fight against Satan. Immediately after David 
spoke of the sweetness of God's words, he shouted 
out, " Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a 
light unto my path." 

A certain girl visited a dance hall, and there fell 
into the hands of people who sought to destroy 



128 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

her character. She listened to these wicked peo- 
ple and slipped away from her good home, but 
later was caught and placed under arrest. Poor 
girl, only seventeen, and behind the bars of a jail 
cell. Friends interceded for her, and she was re- 
leased, but in a couple of weeks she disappeared 
and none of her family has heard from her since. 

Had she listened to the words of God, she would 
have found them a " lamp unto her feet, and a light 
unto her path." 

There are just three words that to me seem to 
hang on the pages of the Bible, like three ripe, 
luscious strawberries on a strawberry vine. And 
sweet as those berries might be in a child's mouth, 
these words are sweeter in the mind and thought. 

The first word is Forgive. Whenever the an- 
cient Jews realized their sins against God, they 
would go about the streets of the city moaning and 
wailing. They called it going about in sackcloth 
and ashes. Once when they were going about like 
this, Jeremiah, a prophet, came to them, and cried 
out, " God will forgive." At the sound of that 
word forgive, they braced up immediately. 

How quickly all the tears of a little child are 
dried, when mother or father forgives. So when 
we learn that God is merciful and forgives us our 
sins, how happy we are. Forgive is a sweet word, 
and it braces up our hearts, just as the sodium, 
iron, calcium, and silicon of the strawberry brace 
up our bodies. 



THE WILD STEAWBEEEY 129 

Keep is the second word. Wicked people may- 
set their traps, but God has said that no matter 
what temptations or snares surround His children, 
He will show them a way of escape. Daniel was 
thrown into a den with lions, but he trusted in 
God, and not one of the lions touched him. 
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown 
by enemies into a fiery furnace, but they trusted in 
God, and not one flame burned them, their hair 
was not even singed. Keep is a sweet word. God 
will keep His children here, and through eternity. 

Love is the third word. Mother's love, Daddy's 
love, and then God's love — who can describe it? 
It is all so wonderful. When a darling lisping 
child crawls up on Mother's knee and whispers, 
"Mother, I love you," how can Mother answer? 
Mother may hug and squeeze the youngster until 
its bones seem to crack, yet when the squeezing is 
all over, Mother is still at a loss to express her 
love fully. What must God's love be like? " For 
God so loved the world that He gave His only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, 
should not perish, but have everlasting life." 

Forgiven, kept, loved. What a wonderful story 
the wild strawberry tells. Sweet words to any 
who may be sad, or tempted. Speak them out 
whenever some one is near. 




J he leaves and roots are delicious qs a salad, 
or boiled wilh butter or oil % 3he juice oood for sore-throat. 



XXI 

THE RAMPION 

Wonder-Working Tears 

THE rampion cannot be put in prison. It 
seems to have so strong a desire for so- 
ciety that nothing can keep it hid. When- 
ever some one attempts to hold it back, it seems to 
sing: 

" Let me live in a house by the side of the road, 

And be a friend to man, 
For Jesus Himself lived upon the road, 

Where men were passing along; 
And His great tender heart, and His mighty arm, 

Were ready to bless the throng." 

Out in the fields where boys and girls chase the 
speckled butterfly, and where grown-ups tramp 
away time, but more often by the side of the hard, 
dusty road, this dainty little bell-flower grows. 
Through the New England states, New York, 
Pennsylvania and Ohio, where thousands of trucks, 
wagons, horses and automobiles stir up the dust of 
the busy highway, right there the rampion grows 
to serve the multitudes. 

Its leaves and roots are used by many as a 
1 3 1 



132 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEKS TELL US 

salad. Some boil the roots and leaves, and enjoy 
the delicious asparagus-like flavour. Others boil 
the plant with butter or oil. The rampion leaves 
and roots are more nourishing than radishes. In 
some neighbourhoods it is called " Throat-wort," 
because it is very good for throat troubles, contain- 
ing very much of a certain substance known as 
alkaloid. 

All through the winter months the roots can be 
gathered. This is interesting, because times of 
trouble and hardship are often spoken of as the 
winter time of life. So we see that all through 
such a season rampion is ready to give its strength 
and nourishment. 

Wonderful little flower, with wonder-working 
tears flowing from its cheek petals. Tears will 
stream down the cheeks of the bruised or scalded 
child, so rampion weeps too when bruised or 
scalded, and its tears are full of healing. The 
tears or juice of rampion mixed with water, and 
rubbed on the face, will give a clear complexion. 

There is a story about a little girl, Rapunzel, 
which, by the way, is another pronunciation for 
rampion. Rapunzel was supposed to be the most 
beautiful child under the sun. When she was 
about twelve years of age an old witch stole her, 
and locked her in a tower in the forest. Thank 
goodness, we do not believe in witches in these 
days. The tower had only one little window near 
the top, and when the witch wished to get in, she 



THE EAMPION 133 

would call to Rapunzel to let down her beautiful 
long hair out of the window, then taking hold of 
the braid, the witch would climb up to the window 
and crawl in. 

One day a young prince was riding past the 
tower, and he heard singing. It was Rapunzel. 
Think of it, locked in a tower, yet singing. That 
is like the rampion flower, which keeps its sweet- 
ness no matter where it has to live. 

The prince tried to get into the tower, but could 
not, because he could find neither doors nor win- 
dows. He came another day, and saw how the 
old witch got in. Next day after that he came 
again and called for Rapunzel to let down her 
hair, and he climbed in. When he found this 
beautiful Rapunzel there, he brought her silk which 
she wove into a ladder, by which she was to get 
out of the tower. The old witch discovered the 
plan, and in her rage, she cut off Rapunzel's won- 
derful hair. She then took her to a desert and 
left her there, but Rapunzel kept singing through 
it all. 

Now the old witch got after the prince. She 
took the golden braid of hair and went back into 
the tower with it. The next day when the prince 
called for Rapunzel, the witch let down the braid. 
The prince climbed up, but wasn't he thunder- 
struck when, instead of seeing beautiful Rapunzel, 
he stared into the eyes of the horrible old witch ! 
He leaped from the tower to save his life, and 



134 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

fell into a heap of thorns which put out his eyes. 
He wandered blindly through the woods, living on 
roots and berries, mourning for Rapunzel. 

One day while wandering he heard singing. It 
was Rapunzel. She saw him and ran to meet him, 
threw her arms around his neck and wept. Two 
of her tears fell on his eyes, and his sight was 
restored immediately. The prince then took 
Rapunzel to his kingdom, where they were both 
happy. The Bible tells us that " they who sow in 
tears shall reap in joy." 

Rapunzel's tears are not to be had any more, 
because she lived in fairy-land. But there are tears 
that still work wonders. Ever so many of the 
world's greatest artists have spent years trying to 
paint the face of Jesus with tears on His cheeks. 
Wonderful tears ! 

Two sisters came to Jesus, and said, " Jesus, our 
brother Lazarus is dead." Jesus knew Lazarus 
and loved him, so He went to the grave. At the 
grave, " Jesus wept." I have wondered if those 
tears fell on Lazarus. Anyway, Jesus said, 
" Lazarus, come forth," and Lazarus came out of 
the grave. 

To this very hour people who are blind and dead 
in sin look up at the face of Jesus, and seeing His 
tears they are moved to sin no more. 

A drunken and brutish man came home one 
evening, and struck, and swore at his wife. Their 
little daughter was near by, and in the excitement 



THE EAMPION 135 

she began to cry. She was a brave little girl, for 
she climbed up on her drunken father's knee and 
said, "Oh, Daddy, don't hit Mother, don't hit 
Mother." As she said this, a tear fell from her 
eyes on Daddy's cheek, and that drunken man 
could never wipe that tear away. It seemed to 
burn a hole in his cheek. Many years have passed 
on, and he feels the tear yet. 

It worked wonders, for that man never drank 
again, and he was good to Mother. Yes, the 
roughest people are often made tender by the 
burn of a baby's tear. 

Down where children and men are struggling, 
the rampion gives her leaves and roots and juice. 
To the toiling, sorrowing crowds it brings nour- 
ishment and brightens their complexions, not with 
a paste that is false, but with a real blood-purify- 
ing tonic. 

Who knows but what those tears of mother's 
and father's will some day fall upon the disobedi- 
ent or ungovernable child. Hope on, pray on, for 
those who " sow in tears shall reap in joy," and 
the faces of naughty children shall be made full of 
smiles once more. 

Oh, rampion, with your juice, your tears, show- 
ing even children how much good may come out 
of their trials and tears. 




ommon 



wer 



An oil cake is made of the seeds byqrindinq 
ikem into a meal, and this is very fattening . 



XXII 

THE COMMON SUNFLOWER 

The Great Miner 

THE miner brings up things that have been 
hid in the earth for thousands of years. 
Iron, brass, copper, silver and gold, sap- 
phires, rubies and glistening diamonds, the miner 
brings to light. 

But there is a Great Miner, the Greatest of them 
all, and every child must learn of His wonderful 
work. The Bible says that " His eye seeth every 
precious thing," no matter where it is hid, whether 
deep in the heart of the earth or deep in the heart 
of a boy or girl. God sees talents in children, 
when nobody else does ; and just as the miner digs 
gold and diamonds from the heart of the earth, 
so the Greatest of Miners, God, can dig out talents 
from the heart of a child. 

Where did we discover this? Well, one morn- 
ing, quite early, by the side of a rickety old barn, 
we spied a glowing, wild sunflower. It was not 
all opened, and a little study showed that some- 
where there was a Great Miner Who was opening 
up that flower and digging out good things. 
Through the night the flower drooped, and covered 
itself with its petals, as with a blanket. In the 

i37 



138 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEBS TELL US 

morning it was holding its face toward the light, 
to meet the rising sun, then its petals opened wide. 
We could have torn it open, but that would have 
killed the flower. No one but the Great Miner 
could open it and bring out the glory that was hid 
there. 

Some say the sunflower does not follow the sun ; 
that this is only a poet's fancy, but others declare 
they have seen growing plants of the sunflower at 
a certain period of development keep their faces 
to the sun. 

There are many varieties of the sunflower, such 
as the ten-petalled, Jerusalem artichoke, etc. We 
are interested in the common wild sunflower that 
grows from Minnesota to Texas and westward. 
Mexico and Peru claim it as a native. The plant 
reaches a height of from three to six feet, with 
flower heads from three to six inches in diameter, 
and blooms from July until September. The 
enormous heads are from the cultivated plants. 
The leaf is broadly oblong, tooth edged, rough on 
the upper surface, and covered with soft hairs on 
the under side. 

The Great Miner first sent His helpers, the bees, 
to dig out honey and wax from this sunflower. 
When the Indians saw the bees digging treasures 
out of it, they dug out the seeds, which they ate 
both raw and cooked. Then they dug out the 
roots, which they used for catarrh, bronchitis, skin 
diseases, indigestion and liver disorders. The In- 



THE COMMON SUNFLOWER 139 

dians called the Great Miner the Great Spirit, and 
they thoroughly believed He brought out these 
hidden virtues of the plant for them. 

After the Indians came the white miner, and 
the Great Miner showed the white miner still more 
wonderful treasures in the plant. 

In China, Southern Europe, Egypt, India and 
Russia the sunflower is cultivated. The seeds 
make excellent food for poultry, pigeons, rabbits, 
sheep, cows, horses, pigs, and children, but we do 
not let the pigs eat out of the same dish with the 
children. 

An oil is crushed from the seeds that is more like 
olive oil than any other vegetable oil known. An 
oil cake is made of the seeds, by grinding them into 
a meal, and these cakes are filled with a fine fatten- 
ing food substance, called nitrogen. 

Some people roast the seeds and use them as 
coffee. There is a fibre in the stems which is 
very strong, and makes a thread that looks like 
silk. In Russia the seeds are sold upon the streets, 
as peanuts are sold in America, and eaten raw. 
Mothers tell us not to swallow apple pits, for if we 
should, they say, apple trees will grow up in our 
stomachs. Well, it would not hurt most of us to 
swallow the sunflower seeds, because then we 
should grow up with faces like sunflowers, bright 
and turned toward the light, growing much good 
within our hearts. 

The Great Miner not only digs in the earth, 



140 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

bringing out gold and jewels, He digs into flowers 
also and brings out foods and medicines that are 
hid there. Most wonderful of all, He digs into 
the hearts of children and folks, and brings out 
talents worth more than gold, and character worth 
more than jewels. 

Joseph Haydn was the son of a poor wheel- 
wright. Joseph kept his ear open for music. He 
learned to play on an old worm-eaten piano, but 
that did not stop him from desiring the best music. 
One day he heard Handel's chorus sing, and it in- 
spired him to write a masterful composition called 
" Creation." Had Joseph played rag-time and 
jazz, he never would have been led to write beauti- 
ful music, but he kept his face turned toward the 
light of the truly great musicians. 

Scanderbeg was the brave prince of Albania. 
After his death the Turks wished to possess his 
bones, that they might wear a piece next to their 
hearts, hoping in this way to secure a portion of 
the wonderful courage he displayed while alive. 

Those Turks desired to keep their faces turned 
toward a great leader, so that the best in them 
might be drawn out. 

Greater than all of these great men, is the Great 
Miner, God. He gave to us His Son, Who is the 
Light toward which every one, everywhere, should 
turn their faces, for by so doing noble thoughts 
and brave deeds will be drawn from the deepest 
corners of our minds and hearts. 



THE COMMON SUNFLOWER 141 

It was Jerry McAuley who was asleep and half 
closed up, like that wild sunflower by the side of 
the old barn. But one morning this drunken river 
thief set his face toward the Light. Many thought 
there was no good in Jerry at all. They called 
him a bum, loafer, liar, thief, and said he ought 
never to have been let out of jail. 

But God, the Great Miner, knew just where the 
good was buried in Jerry's heart. Jerry kept his 
face toward the Light, toward God, and in a very 
short time he blossomed into a missionary on the 
water front of New York City. Some of the 
wealthiest and brainiest people of America came to 
his help, and his life yielded deeds that were like 
a rich oil, and his service to ruined men and 
women covered them like garments of silk. 

If the Great Miner can dig such golden deeds 
out of the heart of a poor wretched thief and 
drunkard like Jerry McAuley, what wonders of 
sparkling jewels will He dig from the lives of 
children who have not covered their talents with 
heaps of muddy sins. " The thing that is hid, 
bringeth He forth to light." 




/he riarly W Lver lasting 

Good eatino, mixed wit/i other orms, or chopped nuk und honey* 



XXIII 

THE PEARLY EVERLASTING 

The Day That Has No Night 

"1 f OONSHINE," some call it, because at 
m/ I n ^^ lt » m ^ e thicket, the silvery gloss 
X ▼ JSL f ft s long, narrow, smooth-edged, 
grayish-green leaf looks like a ray of moonlight. 
Others call it " Silverleaf," because the woolly-like 
underneath side of the leaf, together with the gray- 
ish-green top side, have the appearance of silver. 
There are still others who call it " Life Everlast- 
ing," or " Pearly Everlasting/' because a bunch of 
the leaves and flowers placed on the mantel will 
keep fresh through the entire winter. 

From the base of the plant to the flower the 
leaves set close to the stem. The stem is white, 
woolly, quite stout and leafy, and grows from six 
to thirty inches in height. The flowers grow in 
little clusters at the top of the stem, each flower 
composed of numerous dry, overlapping, scaly- 
like pearl white petals, with centers of brownish- 
yellow, tube-shaped florets. In woods, newly 
cleared land, and on dry hillsides it is plentiful. 
Throughout Nova Scotia and Manitoba, and all 
the way south as far as Missouri and South Caro- 

M3 



144 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

Una pearly everlasting is in full bloom irom July 
until September. 

The flowers and leaves alike are stored with 
nourishment for body and soul. It has a pleasant 
warm flavour, and is often eaten mixed with other 
greens, or with chopped nuts and honey. When 
people see this plant for the first time, they always 
shout with surprise, " Oh, what is this white 
plant ? " " Who are these in white robes ? " The 
pearly everlasting answers for itself, for in it God 
has placed some secrets concerning His nature, 
and His plans for the destiny of a child. 

When St. John was asked who those people 
were that were dressed in white, he explained that 
they were the poor, honest, kind and true from 
earth. Some had been crippled, but they never 
grumbled; some had been sickly, but they never 
lost heart; some had been brilliant, but they used 
their thoughts to make others happy; some had 
been rich, but they resisted temptation. 

Their surroundings were like dry, sandy soil, 
that did not supply much nourishment, yet up 
through hardships and setbacks they grew to be 
pure, true children for God. And because of their 
faithfulness, God did not let them die, but took 
them out of the world, and gave them a garment 
of pure white, and blessed them with everlasting 
life. 

Immortality, then, that is the answer pearly 
everlasting gives to those who ask, " Who are these 



THE PEAELT EVEELASTING 145 

in white ? " For, through struggles and setbacks, 
it comes up out of dry soil. 

Immortality is a big word, but not too big for 
little children to understand. Immortality is not a 
study so deep that only college professors can un- 
derstand it. God wants children to know about 
it just as soon as they can walk and talk. He 
wants them to know that if they will shun evil and 
do good, He will let them live forever and ever 
in happiness. Immortality is simply the day that 
has no night. 

God has made Himself so simple that even a 
child can converse with Him. He puzzles the 
wise men, who think they are so smart, but tells 
His secrets to " babes," — little children. He has 
made His ways so easy to understand that even a 
fool cannot fail to see them. We do not know all 
about God, yet there is much of His nature we do 
understand, and there is no doubt He is using these 
flowers and plants as helps to our minds and hearts 
to a better understanding of Him. 

It is certainly not difficult for children to un- 
derstand that if they always look to Jesus for the 
way in which they ought to act, they will never 
die. A child soon learns that his body will re- 
turn to dust, then why not teach him as early as 
possible that his soul, his mind, his understanding, 
his love will never die? This is immortality. 

God does not ask little children to go digging 
through the dusty pages of preachers' books to 



146 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

learn about Him. He leads them out to play in 
the woods and fields, and there with the pretty 
flowers, He teaches them. So with pearly ever- 
lasting He teaches children the lesson of immor- 
tality. 

If our surroundings in life are not pleasant or 
encouraging, then we must remember that pearly 
everlasting grows up through gritty, sandy soil, yet 
God has given it a gown of pearl and made its 
leaves to look like silver in the night, and besides 
He has given it a sweet flavour. Surely He will 
do more for us. 

Two boys were flying a kite. They were 
" tickled " to see the breezes sweep their kite 
through the air, but suddenly a gust of wind caused 
the kite to " duck " downward, and to become en- 
tangled with some wires. Instantly one of those 
boys swore. The other boy said, " Ssh, ssh ! some 
one will hear you. Swearing won't get our kite 
down." He " shinned " up the pole and soon had 
the kite free. He met a problem without soiling 
his tongue or sinning. His reward will be a robe 
of white, and everlasting life. That little chap 
will always shine like the silver of the pearly ever- 
lasting all through life. 

So God teaches children the lesson of immor- 
tality, and grown-ups as well, not by long argu- 
ments of logic, and deep books, that many chil- 
dren may never be able to read, but by beautiful 
flowers He plants in the fields and woodlands. 



THE PEAELY EVEELASTING 147 

God is very anxious that His children should 
know Him. He loves little children, and He wants 
them to know that just as the pearly everlasting 
remains fresh and pure long after it is cut from 
the field in which it had grown, so the lives of boys 
and girls stay active and uncorrupted all through 
the ages, after they are called out of this world in 
which they too have grown. 

We think of Jesus as dressed in white. All the 
artists paint Him with a white gown in folds about 
His body. White is the colour that represents 
purity, and so everything pure will stand the test 
of time. Pearly everlasting in its beautiful white 
flower and silvery leaf seems to say, " Immor- 
tality ! Immortality ! " 

And then if we think a while and study a little 
longer this strange flower with a message from 
Eternity, we will almost hear the voice of Jesus 
saying: 

" Whosoever looketh upon Me, shall never die.' , 

" Weeds, weeds, weeds," people say, and then 
with an air of disgust they give them a kick, but 
as we draw nearer to these weeds, they become to 
us the very words of God, 



a 




icory 



7/ie roots are shaved into mlhin slices, dried, then roasted 
brown,and used as coffee. The leaves can be eaten in salad. 



XXIV 

THE CHICORY 

The Magic Touch 

A BEAUTIFUL sight, any time from July 
until October, is a field in which wild 
chicory is growing. Sometimes it is 
mixed with wild carrot, and then it is a picture 
not very soon forgotten. Chicory is so common 
it is constantly sneered at by many people, but 
they forget God made it. 

The town of Nazareth, in the Holy Land, had 
a very bad reputation, and whenever its name was 
mentioned, folks from neighbouring towns would 
sneer. A man named Philip came rushing to 
Nathaniel one day and said, " We have found 
Jesus, of Whom Moses did write, Jesus of Naza- 
reth." Nathaniel answered, " Can there any good 
thing come out of Nazareth ? " and Philip was just 
as quick with his reply, for he said, " Come and 
see." 

So the beautiful violet-blue chicory has become 
that common that farmers and gardeners think no 
good can come out of it, but when we become 
better acquainted with this plant it is not long 
showing us why God allows it to grow. 

149 



150 WHAT THE WILD FLOWERS TELL U8 

With its stiff, tough and sharp-cornered stem 
it grows from one to three feet in height. The 
leaves are dark grayish-green, quite long and 
coarsely toothed. The flowers are a violet-blue, 
and are found almost everywhere in the eastern 
half of the United States. 

For many years roots of chicory have been 
shaved into very thin slices and dried in large 
ovens. When dried, the slices are roasted brown, 
and used as coffee. Dealers often mix ground 
chicory with ground coffee, making a cheap sub- 
stitute that only poor people purchase. People 
who know the taste of coffee turn up their noses 
at chicory. 

When the leaves become about ten inches long 
and droop to the ground, unable to bear their own 
weight, they should be picked for salad. They 
contain a valuable form of salt that purifies the 
blood. After the first frost, the roots may be dug 
up, packed into moist sand with the heads up, in a 
cellar where they will sprout, then they will pro- 
duce a delicious blanched chicory called " Barbe 
de Capucin," or " Witloof." Should any one 
again ask, " Can any good come out of that com- 
mon chicory? " answer quickly, " Come and see." 

The fact is that chicory is better than coffee. 
Though chicory is despised and coffee is desired, 
the chicory is the better friend to man. How 
many times doctors must forbid their patients 
from drinking coffee. We can always drink 



THE CHICOEY 151 

chicory because it has no such poisons as coffee,— 
it has been cleansed by God in the growing. 

It contains neither tannin acid nor theine, and 
coffee has both of these poisons. There is only 
about two per cent, of sugar in roast coffee, while 
in chicory there is at least nine per cent. Coffee 
contains from fourteen to twenty per cent, of in- 
digestible fat; chicory has from one to two per 
cent. only. 

Chicory may be called common, while coffee is 
preferred, yet it is free from poison, contains more 
sugar, and is more easily digested. Isn't it shame- 
ful that prejudices like that should be harboured 
against a plant so wholesome? 

But see how helpful Christ was to the people, 
yet they called Him common just because He be- 
friended sinners. His life, like the chicory, was 
free from poison, sweet and helpful. We may 
live in a neighbourhood or town, or even with a 
family that has a bad name, and we may be called 
common, but if God touches our hearts with His 
magic touch, great good will come from our lives. 

Jesus picked His twelve disciples from among 
the common people. Some were rough, hard- 
working fishermen; others were rogues. One 
writer said they were " common clay." Another 
said: 

" They touched His garment's fold, and soon 
The Heavenly Alchemist transformed their very 
dust to gold." 



152 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEBS TELL US 

When God touches any life, all poisonous 
thoughts, words and deeds depart. A child 
touched by the magic touch of God does not burn 
mother's heart with anxiety, as the acid of coffee 
burns the body. There is marvellous magic in that 
touch of God's. 

On March 31, 1860, in a Gypsy tent, near Ep- 
ping Forest, England, in the midst of most com- 
mon surroundings, a little Gypsy boy was born. 
His father lived a worthless life for many years, 
and this boy was looked upon as a very common 
child. 

Gypsies know nothing of God or the Bible, and 
they care nothing for religion. They steal every- 
thing they can, or " find " it, as they call theft. 
When this Gypsy boy was still very young his 
mother died. His father was so wicked that he 
spent a good part of the time in jail. For a while 
he had been a common fiddler in cheap dance 
houses and public liquor saloons. He would play 
and drink until he became a disgusting sight. The 
child danced while his father played, then the hat 
was passed around. When the father became quite 
intoxicated, that shrewd Gypsy lad would pass the 
bat again, and keep that collection for himself. 

One day the boy's father went to a Methodist 
meeting in Cambridge, and the congregation was 
singing: 

" There ig a fountain filled with blood." 



THE CHICORY 153 

He was so touched by the singing he fell on the 
floor, and the child thought his father had died, 
but in a few moments the father stood up on his 
feet and said, " God touched me, I am converted." 
And then and there that common saloon fiddler 
was cleansed by the magic touch of God. 

Not long afterward the boy was sitting on an 
old tree stump near his father's tent, and there 
God touched him. He gave his heart to God and 
declared that never again would he wander like a 
Gypsy, without hope and without Christ. From 
that old tree stump that boy went out to be the 
world-renowned evangelist, Gypsy Smith. 

No longer a Gypsy dancer in cheap saloons, but 
now a minister of God, a preacher and a prophet. 
Like the chicory, all the poison went out of him 
when God touched him and cleansed him. He 
might have been called common, but God's touch 
made him like a healing balm to thousands of 
weary souls who have listened to him preach and 
sing. 

"What God has cleansed, that call not thou 
common." Let us be like the chicory, just a plain, 
ordinary, every-day person, — perhaps classed with 
the common, but God-touched, free from words 
and ways that burn like an acid. 




"Pimpernel ' f a salad plant 

V 

his also a reliable weather-prophet. 



XXV 

THE PIMPERNEL 

The Weather-Glass on Your Pace 

OYER the face of the heavens there is a 
weather-glass. Every child knows what 
a weather-glass is — that instrument that 
indicates the state of the atmosphere, or the 
changes of weather. 

The Pharisees and Sadducees were people who 
did not like Jesus, so they were always trying to 
confuse Him. One evening Jesus reminded them 
that though in their smartness they could read the 
signs of weather in the sky, they could not read 
the signs of the times, and of their own coming 
ruin. He said, " It will be fair weather, for the 
sky is red." And it is always so; if the sky is red 
in the evening, the next day will be a clear one. 

God has made a weather-glass among the weeds, 
over the face of the earth, as well as over the face 
cf the heavens. In waste, sandy places, especially 
near the coast, there grows a brilliant little flower, 
with a rare shade of salmon, or coppery-red blos- 
som, at the end of a square, smooth, slender, and 
rather weak stem. Often the plant lies prostrate 
on the ground. This flower is the pimpernel. 

i55 



156 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

Years ago the Greeks believed it drove away sad- 
ness and made people lively. To-day many peo- 
ple call it the poor man's weather-glass, because 
it is a reliable weather prophet. 

But the pimpernel is also a nourishing food, 
often eaten as a salad. Eaten plentifully, it will 
give relief to any one suffering with asthma. 
Some people use it for poultices. Sprouting up 
in its frail and weak way, where very little else 
grows, near the ever-roaring sea, this plant saves 
multitudes from the distress of storm and disease. 

Francis Bacon, an English writer who lived 
about three hundred years ago, mentioned the pim- 
pernel in one of his books, saying, " There is a 
small red flower in the stubble field . . . which 
if it open in the morning, you may be sure of a 
fine day to follow." Workmen and shepherds to 
this very day pay strict attention to the warning of 
the pimpernel. That is why it is called the poor 
man's weather-glass. Even poets honour it, and 
one has written: 

" Pimpernel, whose brilliant flower 
Closes against the approaching shower, 
Warning the swain to sheltering bower 
From humid air secure." 

So through the centuries this little weather 
prophet plant has been saving many from the 
storms, chasing away sadness, furnishing food, and 
making medicines. 



THE PIMPEKNEL 157 

Pimpernel has a bright, rosy face, and when its 
petals are wide open, it shows the sign of a good 
day. Every child with a bright, open face, has 
the sign of a clear day in that face. The child 
that gets up in the morning with a face full of 
frowns will not make a very pleasant day for 
mother, father, school teacher, or anybody else, no, 
not even for himself. 

Then too the child that cannot look you right 
in the eye, but looks with a sneaky, side glance, 
shows the sign of deceit that will bring many a 
sorrow. All over such a face men will read un- 
truthfulness. Storms of disappointment and grief 
are ahead for such children. It is the bright, 
smiling, wide open, honest face that flashes 
briskly, and meets eye with eye while talking, that 
shows the sign of a beautiful day. 

There was a man who was such a grouch that 
his wife had to adopt certain signs by which to in- 
form the children whether or not he was in good 
humour. When they came into the house they 
would say, " Mother, how did the sky look from 
the kitchen window this evening ?" If she an- 
swered, " Gray and stormy," they knew their 
father was cranky. If she answered, " The sky 
was red and clear," they knew their father was 
pleasant. 

But who wants to be that kind of person against 
whom the whole family has to be warned ? Peo- 
ple like that make it gloomy wherever they go. It 



158 WHAT THE "WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

is best for children to be like the pimpernel, when 
it shows the sign of good weather, bearing a bright, 
wide open face. Children who jump out of bed 
in the morning with bright, frank faces, drive 
sadness away. 

Now let us consider the meekness of the pimper- 
nel plant. It does not push other plants out of 
its way, but grows quietly and somewhat by itself. 
It is often found bent low to the ground, and in 
many instances with its stem running almost along 
the ground. 

Meekness does not mean that a child must be 
a " soft-cake," or a " putty-boy." It means sim- 
ply that a child will be gentle, and mild of temper, 
and will allow people to teach him. He will not 
go about shouting as if he knew everything there 
was to be known. Ugliness, impudence, and 
know-it-all-ness soon become stamped on a child's 
face, and any sensible person need take but one 
glance to read the signs of it there. Kindness, 
meekness, and gentleness also become stamped in 
the same way, and people can see all these traits 
in the expression of the face. This is the weather- 
glass that is on every child's face. 

Another very interesting trait of the pimpernel 
is found in its stem. The stem is square. To be 
square, you know, is to be true, honest, and loyal. 
And the trait of honesty has its sign in the face of 
the child. 

The Duke of Wellington was once approached 



THE PIMPEENEL 159 

by the Prime Minister of the Court of Hyderabad, 
who offered more than half a million dollars if he 
would tell certain government secrets. Welling- 
ton quietly answered, " It appears then that you 
are capable of keeping a secret." " Yes, cer- 
tainly," replied the Prime Minister. " Then so 
am I," said Wellington. True and loyal to his 
country, square and honest with his fellow men, 
he brought blessings to everybody. While in serv- 
ice in India, he could have made millions of dol- 
lars dishonestly, but it is to his great honour that 
he died a comparatively poor man. 

Once a man said to a boy, " Why didn't you 
pocket some of those pears; nobody was there to 
see you." The boy was one of those bright, wide, 
open-faced chaps; so he answered, "Yes, there 
was ; I was there to see myself, and I don't intend 
ever to see myself do a dishonest thing." 

If a little flower can drive so much sadness from 
people's hearts, and lead them to shelter when a 
storm is threatening, how much more can a little 
child do? There is no punishment for treading 
on a flower, but Jesus said if any man tread on a 
child, " It would be better for that man that he be 
flung into the sea." 

To have a face that shows signs of kindness, 
meekness, honesty, and like the wide open pim- 
pernel forecasts pleasant days, that is the ambition 
of every good child. 



# 




Jho Swoet Woodruff 



1Ro Jder itoek the sweeter it is. When throaty 
7J,f^aZ 'Ln $ ckan line, Sj<" * *»eeto*r. 



XXVI 

THE SWEET WOODRUFF 

From Shadow to Sunshine 

WHEN we look at folks who do not seem 
to have much trouble in this world, we 
usually say they are living lives of sun- 
shine. But here is a flower that shows us how in 
the shadow as well as in the sunshine, there is 
sweetness and beauty to be found. 

In the very shady places of the woods, where 
many another flower will not grow, the sweet 
woodruff spreads its beauty and hands out its per- 
fume. It grows only about six or eight inches 
high, yet small as it is, it is a flower of great 
service. 

It is a wholesome food, with a very pleasant 
taste, and is used as a salad, also as a sweet herb. 
As it grows old, it becomes much sweeter, and 
even after it dies, it remains sweet. Thousands 
pick it, allow it to dry, then pack the dried leaves 
among linen to give it a sweet odour — it has a smell 
like that of new-mown hay. 

If plants refused to grow in shady spots then 
every shadowy place would be barren. But sweet 
woodruff is a joy to find, because with its flowers 

161 



162 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

and fragrance it beautifies the places where no sun- 
light ever comes. It is often planted in the shadow 
of a tree or house and it makes the lawn a carpet 
of beauty. It receives its reward for serving in 
the shadows, in that " E'en down to old age," it 
keeps its sweetness, and even after it withers, it 
gives its dead body of leaves to sweeten the gar- 
ments and bedding of thousands of people. 

How different this world would be if children 
everywhere just tried to brighten the dark spots 
in others' lives. We need not worry about our 
reward, for the Bible tells us that " They that 
dwell, or serve, in the shadow, shall come out into 
the sunlight." 

Some children want to be first in everything. 
In the crowd they trample on every one else, elbow 
and edge their way through until they have a front 
seat. Their motto is to " take care of A num- 
ber 1 first." A certain group of children were 
having their picture taken, and several cried to be 
in the front row. When the picture was finished 
the greedy children looked fearful with their faces 
all screwed up, for the sun glared directly upon 
them, but the children who were willing to fill up 
the ends and stand in the rear took beautifully, 
because they were shaded from the sun. Like 
the sweet woodruff they showed up sweet in the 
shadow. 

Not long ago in the city of New York a boy 
fought his way to the edge of the curb to watch a 



THE SWEET WOODRUFF 163 

parade. When the mounted soldiers came by, the 
crowd behind the boy pushed so hard that he was 
thrown out under a horse and almost killed. 

Very often when an entertainment is planned 
in a Church or club, some children want the prin- 
cipal part. Perhaps they could serve much better 
in some less prominent part. If every one got 
first place, there could be no entertainment. Some 
must be willing to serve in shady places, like the 
sweet woodruff. 

An orchestra could not produce harmony if 
every one insisted upon playing the solo part. 
The players who go back in the shadows and play 
second, third and even fourth violin parts, are the 
ones who make the harmony. These are the play- 
ers the Bible honours when it says, " They that 
dwell under the shadow, shall receive their re- 
ward." 

In a large city lot the snow and rain crusted the 
ground with hard ice. Dozens of children en- 
joyed themselves " ponnying " down the little hill. 
One poor boy had no sled and was using a coal 
shovel instead. He would sit in the scoop of the 
shovel, take a grip on the handle, then slide down 
the hill as well as any fellow with a sled. He had 
so much more fun with that shovel than the others 
did with their sleds that every other fellow wanted 
to try the shovel. The boy who can get fun out 
of an old coal shovel because too poor to own a 
sled is growing in the shadow, like sweet wood- 



164 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

ruff. He did not cry about his poverty; he went 
home and got a coal shovel. 

" Rivets ! Rivets ! " yelled a man who was 
standing on an immense steel girder about thirty 
feet from the ground. He called to a man who 
was on the ground by a blow furnace, getting 
rivets red hot. These men were working on an 
elevated road, over which millions of people were 
to ride to business or pleasure. The man by the 
furnace took a red-hot rivet from the fire with 
long pincers and tossed it through the air to the 
fellow on the girder, who caught it in a small tin 
pail. 

The rivet was then set inside of the girder away 
up in a corner where no one could ever see it. 
Suppose the little rivet had life and refused to 
serve in that unseen corner; suppose it insisted 
upon going where it could be seen by the passing 
throng, — why we could never build an elevated 
road, or a subway or even a house. How for- 
tunate for the busy multitudes that thousands of 
rivets are willing to serve in the shady places. 

But let me tell you about a farmer whose barn 
I helped to tear down. While ripping out the 
timbers he came to a stout wooden beam which 
had been the principal support of the barn, yet 
completely hidden from view. "Ah ! " said he, 
" there is the fellow that has been holding this barn 
together, through storm and gale, for the past 
sixty years." Then he patted the beam as he 



THE SWEET WOODBUFF 165 

would a faithful horse. The rest of the old barn 
was burned, but this beam that had served in the 
shade was kept for the main support of the farm- 
er's new house. " They that dwell in the shadow 
shall come to light. " So it is with sweet wood- 
ruff. So it is with us. 

Jesus never pushed Himself to the front. He 
never refused to serve because His Name was last 
on the list, or forgotten from the program. When 
He was born there was no room for Him in a 
house, so in the shade of a stable His little life 
came into this world. All through life He kept 
in the background. When the crowd wanted to 
make Him king, He slipped away. When some 
one told Him He was good, He quickly replied, 
u There is none good but God." 

But when this old world is torn down, as the old 
barn was, people everywhere will then see that 
down in the center of it all this humble Jesus was 
the Prop, the Support, that held it together through 
the storms of the ages. 

Even now He does not ask to be a crown on our 
heads. He asks only for a secret place in our 
hearts. Oh, how lovely to be like the sweet wood- 
ruff and willingly serve in the shadowy spots, and 
there send out beauty and fragrance. They that 
serve faithfully in the shadow here, shall surely 
some day live in a new and brighter glory. 




The fenderWjip /eaf/eth and stems are very refresh.- 
mo when Iw used in soups. It produces fine honey . 



XXVII 

THE BORAGE 

The Star-Rays Over Every Cradle 

" Long years ago, o'er Bethlehem's hills 
Was seen a wondrous thing ; 

As shepherds watched their sleeping flocks 
They heard the angels sing. 

" The anthem rolled among the clouds 
When earth was hushed and still ; 

Its notes proclaimed sweet peace on earth, 
To all mankind good will." 

TO the shepherds the sight and song of the 
angels was a wondrous thing, but to the 
wise men the sight of the brilliant star 
was the wondrous thing. 

There is a little plant called " Star-of -Bethle- 
hem," but if I had my way I would give that name 
to the borage flower. Not so much because of its 
appearance, but because of what it does. In all 
its works it compels us to think of the things Jesus 
did. 

While men cannot see that star upon which the 
wise men gazed, God has nevertheless filled the 
heavens with beautiful stars, and when we see the 
borage flower we feel quite sure that God has also 

167 



168 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

covered the ground with stars that have a message 
for our minds and souls. 

The star-of-Bethlehem flower is white, and that 
may be why it received its name. But it has six 
petals and does not in any way point to the sweet 
Baby in the manger at Bethlehem. 

The borage has the shape of a five-pointed star, 
and some are blue, some pink, some violet red, and 
others white, but the heart of each flower is al- 
ways white. 

The bees will fly miles to find this plant because 
its sweetness produces a wonderful honey. 

The leaves, when full grown, are rough, like 
flannel, and are used for a salad, while the blos- 
soms and tender upper leaves are used to make the 
salad dish look pretty. The tender leaflets and 
stems contain a sticky juice which is very cooling 
and refreshing when used in soups. The entire 
plant grows to a height of two or three feet. A 
salad decorated with these beautiful borage flowers 
would cheer the most depressed, and perhaps that 
is why some say it will drive away sadness. Does 
not this make us think of the Christ? 

The juice of the borage yields crystals of nitre 
and table salt. The fresh juice gives thirty per 
cent, of nitrate of potash. The nitre or nitrate of 
potash which comes from the older sprays, gives a 
pleasant coolness to water, and it is often used to 
give additional coolness to summer drinks, such as 
water, lemonade, and all fruit juice drinks. 



THE BOKAGE 169 

Like many other wild plants, the borage grows 
in places that continually surprise folks. It grows 
in gardens, but more often in wild waste places, 
neglected fields and even on rubbish heaps. 

The wise men who followed the rays of that 
first Christmas Star came from different parts of 
the world, and probably represented different races 
of men. Yet when they found the Holy Babe, 
they all gave gifts and bowed before Him. Jesus 
was the same sweet Babe to each one. 

And this Manger scene is plainly written in 
every borage flower. Suppose a group of chil- 
dren with various tastes and customs from dif- 
ferent parts of the world were to search for a 
borage flower. Those who like pink would find 
one, those who like blue would find one, and each 
would find his favourite colour. When the pick- 
ing would be over, the children from Japan, from 
India, from France, and from Russia would join 
with the children of America to sing the praises of 
the beautiful borage. So each child finds his 
Christ, and the star-rays shine down over every 
cradle. 

No matter how Jesus appears to the different 
races of men, or to the different denominations of 
belief, no matter what colour His hair or skin, no 
matter what style His garment, way down in His 
heart He is the same for every one under the sun. 
This is like the borage flower. Its petals are dif- 
ferently tinted but its heart is always white. So, 



170 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

too, when every shade of Christian belief shall 
come to the heart of Christ they will unite to sing 
His praise, for they will discover He is the one 
Lord over all. 

The borage is a miracle-solver. When Moses 
led the people of Israel into the Wilderness of 
Shur, for three days they could find no water. 
And when they did find some at Marah, it was too 
bitter to drink. How they complained, and how 
Moses prayed for help. God told Moses to cast a 
certain tree or plant into the water. Moses did so 
and the water immediately became sweet. The 
Bible does not say what this plant was, but had 
Moses used the borage it would have accomplished 
the same result. It is not difficult then to believe 
that the bitter waters were made sweet, when we 
know what the borage can do. 

And isn't that the way Christ works every- 
where? He sweetens up everything. He takes 
the bitterness out of children's hearts, and removes 
the sting of guilt from those who fellowship with 
Him. 

The prophet Isaiah said that " Jesus would grow 
up as a tender plant." He is the tender plant that 
sweetens every bitter experience of life, and this is 
another reason why I would call the beautiful 
borage plant the star-of-Bethlehem. It also ex- 
plains why the poet said it would drive away sad- 
ness. 

Still more is to be said for this attractive little 



THE BOEAGE 171 

flower. Remember, it cools and refreshes the 
drinks into which its juice is poured. When men 
go to war their hearts are full of bitterness and 
murder, but the instant Christ comes into their 
hearts, they hate strife and warfare. So when 
men become angry in sin, and little children are 
heated in tongue and temper, how quickly Jesus 
cools and calms them. Sometimes you stamp your 
feet in a rage and refuse to obey mother, and 
sometimes your tongue becomes sizzling hot with 
unkind words ; just let Jesus into your thought and 
heart, and all those peppery hot words will van- 
ish, — your tongue will be cooled instantly. Such 
is the influence of Christ everywhere. 

The rays from the sweet starry borage point 
directly to the Manger where the Holy Babe was 
born. Yes, long years ago the star in the heavens 
was a wondrous sight, but to-day in the fields and 
even on garbage heaps the dainty borage flower is 
a wondrous sight, reminding children and men of 
the Christ Whose light and power shine down over 
every cradle where a baby is being reared. 

Children, wouldn't you second my motion to 
give this flower the name star-of -Bethlehem? 




rljrslanQ 



Two or three ounces of boiled purslane w/7/ supply 
a,jnan with sufficient strength for a lono fourney. 



XXVIII 

THE PURSLANE OR PUSLEY 
Wedge In 

THE woodsman splits huge tree trunks by 
driving in a wedge little by little, and 
that is the way every child will have to 
open up a place for himself in this world. 

At a Sunday School picnic the children were 
told that only those who were seated would be 
served with ice-cream. About fifty lads made a 
" bee-line " for the front seat, and when the rush 
was over one little chap was left standing. As the 
teacher came along with the ice-cream, he began 
to squeeze into a space that did not seem large 
enough to admit the blade of a jack-knife. He 
wriggled and wriggled, and the lad next to him 
kept saying, " Wedge in, wedge in." In another 
minute he got the place, but only by wedging in. 

There is a wild plant that might well be called 
the wedge plant, because its thick, meaty leaves are 
wedge shaped. It is purslane or pusley. The 
smooth, juicy stems shoot out in all directions 
from the root and, with the leaves, lie upon or rise 
a few inches from the ground. A tiny lone yel- 
lowish flower is lodged in the center of a circle of 

*73 



174 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

round-cornered, dull green or reddish leaves, that 
grow at the end of the branches. In the scorch- 
ing sun of a midsummer noonday, these flowers 
open. 

Purslane is found in waste places anywhere, and 
probably was first found in the southwestern part 
of the United States. It thrives in the fiercest sun. 
Gardeners hate it as a common trailing weed in 
sandy soil, yet it is the friend of every hungry and 
sick person. The thick stalks are good pickled in 
salt and vinegar for winter salads. Some eat the 
whole plant with oil and vinegar, and some mince 
it, mix it with honey, and make a salad of it in 
that way. Still others eat it cold after it has been 
boiled. 

Then, too, the flowers ripen many seeds which 
are used in medicine preparations. 

The Indians boiled purslane, and carried it with 
them on long journeys, because two or three 
ounces a day will give a man enough strength to 
endure a great strain. It is used for many ail- 
ments, and also for the teeth. Years ago some 
imaginative folks even spread it about their beds 
as a protection against evil spirits. 

The gardener digs madly at this plant, tears it 
out root and all, then throws it away to die. But 
the hungry man pulls it gently from the ground, 
examines it, and discovers a food full of strength. 
The sick man is not rough with it either. He 
analyzes it in his laboratory and discovers a heal- 



THE PURSLANE OR PUSLEY 175 

ing medicine in its leaves and flowers.. Even the 
preacher stops when he sees this queer little plant 
that thrives in the boiling hot sun. He studies 
it and finds a beautiful story. 

The tiny purslane blossoms seem like little baby 
boys and girls, when they come into this world. 
Every one who looks at them says, " My, but 
aren't they tiny? " And they are tiny. 

Theodore Roosevelt was a tiny baby. He was 
like the tiny purslane flower. He was so tiny his 
parents never expected him to live. When he 
grew to be quite a boy he was still weak and sickly. 
His father took him to different parts of the world, 
hoping the changes of climate would make him 
stronger. 

When Roosevelt became a young man he went 
to the Maine woods and tried to build up his frail 
body. Bill Sewall, a guide, says that when he 
first saw Roosevelt he was a " thin, pale youngster, 
with bad eyes and a weak heart." The friend who 
came with Roosevelt said, " Sewall, I want you to 
take that young fellow Theodore under your spe- 
cial care. Be careful of him, see that he doesn't 
take too hard jaunts. He is not strong, but he 
has got a great deal of ambition and grit . . . 
he would go until he fell." 

The weak body and tiny mind that was in baby 
Roosevelt became great because he wedged in little 
by little wherever he could. Once while waiting 
in an outer office to see a certain man he pulled 



176 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEES TELL US 

from his pocket a small volume of Greek history 
and read it diligently until called. Every moment 
of his life he was busy wedging in something, to 
build up either his body or his mind. 

As a result of this driving at things little by 
little, Theodore Roosevelt became one of the finest 
examples of physical strength and mental power in 
all the world. On the evening of October 14, 
1912, in Milwaukee, while coming out of a hotel 
on his way to deliver an address, a crank shot him 
in the chest. Mr. Roosevelt insisted upon going 
to the auditorium to make his speech and there he 
stood before several thousands of people for more 
than an hour after he had been shot, until he had 
finished, even though the bullet was in his chest 
and the blood was streaming down his body. The 
physicians who probed for the bullet marvelled at 
the toughness of his flesh and sinews. Dr. F. L. 
Terrell said, " He is one of the most powerful men 
I have ever seen on an operating table." 

Purslane tells this story of how to conquer 
weakness of any kind, by its wedge-shaped leaves 
that completely surround the flower. So then the 
child who wedges in on every side will sooner or 
later be a very useful citizen. 

This is the way we go through school. We 
learn little by little while we are wedging into one 
class after another. When we graduate we wedge 
into college, and then we wedge through college. 
After we are through college we wedge into busi- 



THE PUESLANE OE PUSLEY 177 

ness, and so we wedge through life. If the lesson 
is difficult, we must say to ourselves, " Little by 
little I will drive," and it will not be long before 
we shall rise to places of leadership in the com- 
mercial and professional world. 

Our characters are developed in this way. The 
tongue, the temper, the mind, the heart, the whole 
life is mastered little by little. The Bible tells us 
of some people who had to gain knowledge by 
studying " line upon line, and here a little and 
there a little." First small lessons are learned, 
and then the larger ones. By and by great power 
has been gathered, and like the purslane plant we 
possess virtue and strength that will sustain our 
bodies and minds through long tests of sorrow, 
sickness, and temptation. 

So little by little a child understands God and 
His Word. Driving little by little with ambition 
and grit and faith in God we shall discover a 
spiritual power that will carry us through a long, 
long eternity. 

What a plant! It gives us food and medicine, 
and besides it teaches us to wedge in and thus 
solve problems and mysteries. 




Jho 0//d$ haArot 

^Dainty and beautiful, yet thoroughly, hated. 



XXIX 

THE WILD CARROT 

Running Wild 

IN August the beautiful wild carrot is like a 
decoration over the fields and roadsides. If 
we judged it by its beauty alone, it would be 
given a place ahead of many garden plants. Each 
flower is made up of one little purple flower in the 
center, and a great number of tiny white flowers 
in a cluster about that center. When fully opened 
it has a lace-like appearance; when half open, it is 
hollow like a bird's nest. Because of this it has 
the names of " Queen Anne's Lace," and also 
" Bird's Nest." 

It grows rapidly and abundantly, and like the 
thistle, its roots go deep, as if to defy those who 
seek to destroy it. The root is not poison, but is 
very sharp and biting. It tastes and smells like 
the cultivated carrot, but of course is not as sweet. 

When we are suffering with cold, sore throat, or 
bronchitis, some doctors prescribe an oil called 
" Pinene," which is produced from the root of 
the wild carrot. 

Though beautiful as a flower, it is hated by the 
farmer. How sad, that a plant bearing fine, 

179 



180 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEBS TELL US 

dainty, feathery leaves, and flowers as delicate as 
rare lace, should be unloved. When such a flower 
is hated, there must be some good reason for it. 

However, as we examine the wild carrot, we are 
quite sure we discover the trouble. Wild carrot is 
in the wrong place. It is a good carrot that has 
run wild, and when it runs wild, it keeps its beauty, 
but loses its usefulness. It produces no fruit for 
relish, no vegetable for food; but so it is when 
things run wild. For if boys and girls run wild, 
they soon lose their usefulness, and become dis- 
liked. 

The wild carrot can be restored, but it takes 
patience and time. If its seeds are planted in rich 
soil, and seeds from that flower are planted again, 
and this is kept up for several seasons, it will be- 
come like the cultivated carrot. But see how long 
it takes to get all the wildness out of a prodigal 
carrot. Yet with care and close attention it will 
lose its sharpness, and become a good carrot, 
possessing sugar, starch and protein, fine for food. 

If the seeds of the cultivated carrot plant be per- 
mitted to fall in neglected ground, it will soon be- 
come the hated and scorned weed. 

The ancient people of Israel were taken away 
into slavery, because they sinned against God ; they 
ran wild. But God did not forsake them. He 
sent a preacher to them whose name was Ezekiel, 
and Ezekiel tried to bring the people back to their 
senses. He said, " You were once beautiful and 



THE WILD CAEEOT 181 

useful, but now, by your sin, you have lost your 
attractiveness, and your usefulness as well." 
Children, the wild carrot stands like a sentinel on 
the roadside, warning us of judgment — the judg- 
ment that comes to the child who runs wild. 

There were two little brothers reared in the same 
home. The older boy's name was Crafty; the 
younger's Dutiful. Crafty was a beautiful child, 
and everywhere he went people stopped to admire 
him. Dutiful was not nearly so attractive. 

As Crafty grew, he ran wild. He was disobedi- 
ent, deceitful, and dishonest. One day he stole 
his brother's skates, and sold them for five cents 
to a strange boy, just because his mother refused 
to give him money for a jack-knife. 

As people became acquainted with him, they 
could hardly believe that so beautiful a boy could 
be so wicked. Crafty grew so disobedient that 
his parents placed him in a home for unruly boys. 
For three years he was kept there, and during that 
time he played so many deceitful tricks that every 
one detested his beauty. 

One day a visitor to the institution saw Crafty, 
and she said to the superintendent, " What a 
beautiful child that is." " Yes," answered the 
superintendent, " but he's a little thief." In a 
second the visitor turned away, no more interested 
in that beautiful child. Crafty was so wild he 
made his beauty to be hated. 

Dutiful was a very different boy. He helped 



182 WHAT THE WILD FLO WEES TELL US 

his parents, ran the errands with gladness, and al- 
ways returned with the correct change. Though 
not as handsome as Crafty, he was loved by every 
one, because he was truthful and reliable. 

A wild boy is like the wild carrot — sharp and 
bitter. But, like the wild carrot, even such a child 
can be restored. If he plant himself in the whole- 
some surroundings of a happy home, where mother 
and father can care for him, he will soon lose his 
bitterness, and become sweet with sugar, and 
sturdy with starch and protein; that is, his char- 
acter will become noble. 

In the Bible we read of a beautiful boy, whose 
father was very rich. The lad began to run wild, 
and one day went to his father and said, " Father, 
I want my share of money from your estate now." 
His father immediately counted it out and gave it 
to him. 

The boy then went off to a far country, where 
his family could not see what he was doing. 
There he squandered his money right and left, 
having a gay time, a wild time. But soon his 
money was all spent, and the beautiful boy was 
hungry and homeless. He did not have a friend 
in that strange land, so he went to a certain man 
for work, and the man sent him out to care for 
the pigs. He had been so wicked his beauty was 
no longer attractive. He made his beauty to be 
hated. 

While watching the pigs the boy thought of the 



THE WILD CAEEOT 183 

comfortable home he had left. He thought of that 
bountiful table, spread with good things to eat. 
He thought of his kind father, against whom he 
had sinned. Finally he plucked up courage and 
said, " I will not stay here with these pigs. I will 
go back to my father, and ask him to forgive me." 

As quickly as his feet could carry him he rushed 
home. When the boy drew near to the old home- 
stead, his good father saw him coming and ran 
out to meet him. Oh, how happy he was to see 
the wild boy home again. He hugged him, and 
kissed him, and arranged a dinner for him. Then 
he helped that boy to get all the wildness out of 
his heart, so that he might be useful again. 

No matter how good and beautiful a child may 
be, if like a good carrot they linger about danger- 
ous and neglected places, they will soon run wild, 
and their beauty will be hated. An honest and 
obedient child is always beautiful with a char- 
acter that never can lose its charm. 

It must be terrible to be beautiful, yet unloved. 
But, sadder still, to learn that we made our beauty 
tc be hated because we ran wild. 

Thank you, Wild Carrot, for the warning. 



nr 



XXX 

THE GROUND NUT 

Climbing Over Fences 

HINK of pulling pears out of the ground 
as people do potatoes. Well, many a 

-*■ country lad has yanked the ground nut 
flower out of the ground, and then picked pears 
from the roots. This plant has underground 
shoots which produce strings of little pear-shaped 
bulbs, from one to two inches long, and the farm- 
er's boy knows something about their delicious 
flavour. 

The ground nut is found in the wildest places, 
and is rarely seen on cultivated grounds. It has 
what is called a compound leaf, because made up 
of sometimes five and sometimes seven toothless, 
smooth, light green, egg-shaped, pointed leaflets. 
The flowers grow in thick rounded clusters, on 
stems that shoot out of the joint formed by the 
leaf and plant stems. They are maroon or lilac- 
brown in colour. 

On the borders of swamps or wet meadows, or 
in damp ground, during August and September, 
this plant can be seen in bloom. It is found from 
New Brunswick to Minnesota and southward 

185 



186 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEKS TELL US 

to the Gulf. By some it is called the wild bean, 
and grows from four to five feet long, mounting 
over walls and fences, and winding itself about 
shrubs and other plants. 

It is forever seeking the light, and so any child 
who is forever yearning for the truth and for the 
most complete knowledge of life, will become 
beautiful in character and countenance, even as 
the ground nut is beautiful. 

One of the first lessons baby has to learn is the 
climbing up over obstacles. At first baby is help- 
less on the floor, but in a few days he catches sight 
of the dish-pan near the stove, and struggles to 
reach it. Soon baby crawls, then toddles. And 
how he struggles to walk. He falls and becomes 
covered with bumps and bruises, and frightens 
Mother half to death, but in a couple of years 
that baby is running and jumping and climbing 
fences. 

When the baby learns to talk he is just as clumsy 
with his tongue as he was with his feet. We try 
to make the baby say sugar and he answers 
" Yu yu," and for violet he says " Bile over." 
Many hindrances have to be overcome before we 
learn how to speak correctly. Watch the ground 
nut. It overcomes the hardest obstacles. And, 
if a little vine can climb over baffling oppositions, 
surely children can overcome the hard tasks that 
lie in their path. 

In spite of the rocks, walls, fences and over- 



THE GBOUXD NUT 187 

awing bushes, the ground nut becomes beautiful 
and useful. A weaker and less courageous plant 
would wither up and die because of the rocks in 
the way, but ground nut does not stop to whine; 
it simply buckles in to work, laughs at the rocks 
and fences, and soon climbs over them all. 

This plant is so sweet and fragrant it is often 
located by its odour alone. It loves to have its 
roots cool and shaded in moist places, but it seeks 
the fullest sunlight for its leaves and flowers. In 
other words, it keeps its head in the sky, while its 
feet are still on the earth. It is not taken with its 
own beauty, nor silly and vain with its power. It 
is beautiful, yet practical. 

If children would go to the fresh, cool foun- 
tain of life in God for their strength, as the ground 
nut goes to the cool moist spots for its nourish- 
ment, they too, like the ground nut, would not 
hesitate at any rock or fence that might appear in 
their way through life. Their " Father Which 
heareth them in secret" w r ould reward them openly. 
With their lives rooted in God and their faces 
seeking the sunlight they would be bound to win. 

Joseph was the little fellow's name. His father 
loved him. He had eleven brothers who hated 
him because he was the favoured son. These 
brothers treated Joseph very meanly, but he kept 
cool, and always tried to turn his face toward 
God, — he was seeking the sunlight of God's love. 

One day Joseph told of a dream he had dreamed. 



188 WHAT THE WILD FLOWEKS TELL US 

His father forbade him from mentioning it, and 
his brothers hated him more than ever, because 
the dream showed Joseph ruling over them. 

A little later, away over the hills, they nearly 
killed him. When they saw some merchants com- 
ing on their way to Egypt, they pulled Joseph out 
of the pit into which they had thrown him, and 
sold him to these merchants. They sprinkled his 
robe with the blood of a goat, and took the gar- 
ment to their father, telling him that wild beasts 
had devoured his favourite son. 

In Egypt Joseph was sold again, and shortly 
after was thrown into prison on a false charge. 
While in jail he told some prisoners the meaning 
of their dreams, and this led to the king's asking 
him to tell him the meaning of a dream which he 
had dreamed. He interpreted the king's dream so 
wisely that he was set free and also made the ruler 
over all Egypt. The king presented him with 
jewels and gold, dressed him in rich clothing, and 
made him ride in a chariot next to him. How 
true it is that " Him that overcometh, I will grant 
to sit with Me." 

The jealousy and hatred of his brothers, the 
drudgery of slavery, the false charge and prison 
term, were all piled up around Joseph like fences, 
yet he lodged his heart in God, and never lost an 
opportunity to bring his mind and face out to the 
sunlight. God was like a cool, refreshing nour- 
ishment to him, and so he overcame every obstacle. 



THE GEOUND NUT 189 

But think for a moment of the barriers that 
stood in Christ's way. Prejudices that people had 
harboured for centuries, the bitter hatred of the 
Pharisees, the inflamed vengeance of the mob, and 
finally the disloyalty of His own disciples, all piled 
around Jesus while He was trying to save the 
world from sin. He was surrounded with lies, 
and false witnesses, then crucified ; yet He did not 
give up. He was always thinking of the children 
on the other side of those barricades, and He 
wanted His life to reach through to them. 

He kept His face up toward the light of heaven, 
while all the time He was going into the cool 
shade of the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and 
gather strength. If Jesus had not overcome 
those obstacles that were in His way, then not one 
of us could ever have overcome the hindrances in 
our path. 

Jesus overcame, therefore He sits with God upon 
an everlasting throne. The little ground nut 
overcomes, therefore it sparkles as a prince among 
the wild flowers. 

Children, shall not we too overcome? In this 
day when the world needs strong men and women, 
when the tasks of the nations call for brave and 
loyal citizens, shall we quit and be put to shame by 
a little wild plant? Joseph sat with an earthly 
king, but we who overcome shall sit with the 
heavenly King. 



Index of Suggested Texts for Ministers 

Common Dandelion "Jesus Christ, the same yester- 
day and to-day, and forever." 
— Heb. 13:8. 

Common Violet " Mordecai went out from the 

presence of the king in royal 
apparel of violet." 

—Esther 8:15. 

Marsh Marigold "I find no fault in this Man." 

—Luke 23:4. 

Jack-in-the-Fulpit "The child did minister." 

—1 Sam. 2:11. 

Indian Cucumber-Root " He could not be hid." 

— Mark 7:24. 

Wood-Sorrel " He shall be to thee a Restorer 

of life." —Ruth 4:15. 

Yarrow or Milfoil "So the devils besought Him 

. . . and Jesus said unto 
them go, and . . . they 
went." —Matt. 8:31, 32. 

Forget-Me-Not " This do in remembrance of 

Me." —Luke 22: 19. 

Common Plantain "Behold the rod . . . put 

forth buds, and bloomed 
blossoms." —Num. 17:8. 

Alfalfa Flowers " That ye, being rooted and 

grounded in love, may be 
able to comprehend." 

— Eph. 3:17, 18. 

The Water Lily " I am the . . . Lily." 

—Song of Sol. 2:1. 

Swamp Honeysuckle "Josiah . . . while he was 

yet young, began to seek 
after God." 

—2 Chron. 34:1, 3. 
Arrow-Leaf or Arrow-Head." Shoot out thine arrows, and 

discomfit them." 

— Ps. 144:6. 
High Bush Blackberry " He humbled Himself, and be- 
came obedient unto death." 
—Phil. 2:8. 
190 



SUGGESTED TEXTS FOE MINISTEES 191 

Pokeweed "Ye shall know them by their 

fruits." —Matt. 7:16. 

Cat-Tails " Many shall be purified and 

made white." — Dan. 12:10. 

Meadowsweet " And the house was filled with 

the odour of the ointment." 

—John 12:3. 

Burdock " This one thing I do." 

—Phil. 3:13. 

Thistle " Faithful are the wounds of a 

friend." — Prov. 27:6. 

Wild Strawberry " How sweet are Thy words 

unto my taste." 

— Ps. 119:103. 

Rampion " They that sow in tears shall 

reap in joy." — Ps. 126:5. 

Common Sunflower " The thing that is hid, bringeth 

He forth to light." 

—Job 28:11. 

Pearly Everlasting "What are these ... in 

white robes." — Rev. 7:13. 

Chicory " What God hath cleansed, that 

call not thou common." 

—Acts 10:15. 

Pimpernel "It will be fair weather, for the 

sky is red." —Matt. 16:2. 

Sweet Woodruff " They that dw.ell under His 

shadow shall return, they 
shall, revive as the corn." 

— Hosea 14: 7. 

Borage "And the Lord showed Moses 

a tree, (plant) which when 
he had cast into the waters, 
the waters were made 
sweet." — Exod. 15:25. 

Purslane or Pusley " Little by little I will drive." 

—Exod. 23:30. 

Wild Carrot " Thou hast made thy beauty to 

be abhorred."— Ezek. 16:25. 

Ground Nut "To him that overcometh, will 

I grant to sit with Me." 

—Rev. 3:31. 

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